Harry Potter and the Changing of History
by utkari02
Summary: Harry and his friends get a glimpse of the future. If nothing changes, they will face a future where most of them don’t survive. Join us in this story of romance, adventure, speculation and drama, and we’ll see what unfolds.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter and the Changing of History

By: Kari Phillips, Danielle Line, & Ginger Muse

Additional Help Provided by: Donald Brooks, Sandra Charpenter, Brent Sloan

Chapter One: Owls

It was a gloomy day at number four, Privet Drive. It had been raining for two days and Harry Potter, the boy who lived, had been stuck in the house the whole time. He had not heard from any of his friends since the last day of school, and Hedwig has been gone for four days now. He doesn't worry about her being out so long because he is used to her taking forever to get back. But on that cold, wet night she returned with four other owls with her.

Harry opened the window and let Hedwig and the other owls into the room. Two of the owls he recognized. One was Pig, Ron's' owl and the other was one of the school owls from Hogwarts. He had no idea who the other two belonged to or who sent them.

Harry reached for Ron's letter, took it off Hedwig, ripped it open to read the shortest letter he'd ever seen Ron write him.

_Harry_

_Something has happened and mum and dad will be arriving shortly to pick you up. _

_Ron_

Harry was stunned by Ron's letter. 'What's happened that's so bad that they have to get me immediately?' He put Ron's letter down and read the letter from Hogwarts.

_Harry, there's been an attack. I want you to go and stay with the Weasleys. I will be there later on to fill you in. Don't be too worried, and don't do anything rash._

Albus Dumbledore

Harry slowly sat down on his bed as he reread the letter from Professor Dumbledore. His mind was working hard trying to understand the meaning of the contents of the letter.  
'Attack on whom? Where?'

He stood up and began to pace the floor.

'How can I act rash when know one tells me anything.'

He crumbled the letter in his hand, as he grew madder with each passing moment.  
There was a loud hoot and his eyes followed the sound to see Pig and the two remaining unknown owls were still perched on his window sill.

One of the unfamiliar owls' was a beautiful Eagle owl that looked like it belonged to a rich family if you went by its extravagant collar. The other one was the complete opposite. It looked wild and dangerous. And he somehow got the feeling that this owl didn't bring good news.

Harry noticed that Pig also had a letter tied to his ankle, which was unusual considering he had already gotten a letter from Ron. He opened the letter from Pig and saw that it was from Ron, but dated 3 days ago. Pig must have gotten lost. It was the usual chatty, when are you going to be able to come stay with us letter. Harry knew that Ron wrote this letter before the attack or whatever it was happened. He couldn't decide which letter to open next. The one from the rich owl, or the one from the dangerous owl.

He decided to get the bad news first. He very carefully untied the letter from the dangerous looking owl. As soon as he did, the owl snapped at him and flew to get some water in Hedwig's cage. Harry was too busy opening the letter to shoo it away.

He opened the letter with tremulous hands. It was from Hermione. Harry felt a tight pain in his chest when he recognized her handwriting. It wasn't her usual neat, perfect handwriting, either. He could tell that she was terrified when she wrote this letter.

_Harry,_

I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. I was on the way home with my parents when we were attacked. He has me Harry. He hasn't told me what he wants. I found this owl; well it kind of found me. It had a quill and parchment with it. It was really strange. I thought about it for a while, and I don't think it's a trap. I know the owl is bad looking but it's been really nice to me. Bringing me bread and water. It's helping someone and I have no choice but to trust it. I don't know what Voldemort wants with me, other than to get to you. Please don't come after me. Let the Order handle it. I'm begging you Harry. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. I've got to send this letter out. I've already been here for two weeks. I think. 

Got to go.

All my love,

Hermione.  
  
Harry was almost in tears when he finished reading the letter. Voldemort had Hermione. His worst fears had been realized. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew he had to help her. He had to get her back. He looked at the other owl. And then he looked closer at the owl's collar. And he saw something that made his skin crawl. A name. Malfoy.

"Malfoy!" Harry read it over and over again just to make sure it was really there. He can't believe he didn't recognize it at first glance. As many times as he'd seen Malfoy getting packages from home in the Great Hall. A thousand thoughts went through his head. Is this from Draco? Did Lucius escape? Is his wife a Death Eater? Do they know what's going on? Do they want to help? Harry pushed that last thought out of his head. He knew that wasn't a possibility. He took the letter from the Malfoy's owl. It was all he could do for the moment. It took all of the decency in Harry's body and mind not to kill the owl on the spot. Instead he let it fly away. But it didn't. It seemed it was waiting for a response.

Harry opened the letter. It was what looked to Harry like a women's writing. It read something like this.

_Harry Potter:_

We have something of yours. If you ever want to see it alive again, you will do exactly what we tell you. Don't tell anyone. Or we will kill it. More instructions will follow.

And then there was an image of the Dark Mark as a signature.

"Not very articulate are they?" Harry thought to himself.

He noticed that the owl still hadn't left.

"What do you want?" he yelled at the owl. "They don't want an answer."

Then the owl did something very peculiar. It winked at Harry, then shook it's head. A small rolled up piece of parchment dropped from underneath the owl's collar.

He opened it up. It looked like it was from Draco.

_Potter,_

The Death Eaters have Hermione. Don't ask me why I'm telling you this. I have my reasons. I don't know what their plans are yet. I've been sending her bread and water. And a quill and parchment. She might have already gotten a letter to you by now. I will try and find more out. I'll keep in touch.

Don't write me, I'll write you.

Draco  
  
Harry was to say the least, stunned.

Draco Malfoy paced up and down in his bedroom at Malfoy Manor. He had taken a great risk in sending that owl to Granger knowing full well she would try and contact Potter and if he knew Potter, he was bound to send a note back to her. She would not know it was his owl unless Potter told her. He only hoped the Gryffindor was smart enough to keep that information to himself. Granger would never have taken the bread and water if she had known it was from him. But he did what he had to do to keep her alive. It was up to Potter to take the next step.

Meanwhile, back in Harry's bedroom, he was pacing back and forth trying to decide what to do. He thought he'd better write Hermione back first. He got out a new piece of parchment and his quill and sat down to write one of the hardest letters of his life.

_Hermione,_

_Are you okay? Are you hurt? Keep taking the food and water from the owl. You are right someone is helping you. But I don't know why, right know. They sent me a letter saying they'd keep in touch. I'm sending you extra scraps of parchment. If you don't have anywhere to hide them, just send them back. I'm so sorry. He did this because of me. Dumbledore already knows. He's having me go to the Weasleys. I don't think Ron knows that it's you though. I'm not going to tell them that I'm in contact with you. It will only put them all in danger. I promise to do anything and everything in my power to get you out of there. I too, couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. Please write me back and let me know that you're not hurt. I promise you won't be there much longer. I need you to be strong. For me._

_All my love,_

_Harry._

He found some extra pieces of parchment and a small bottle of ink and tied them to the owl's leg. He then ruffled around in his desk looking for something that he knew would help her. It was a picture of them in their first year. He didn't really want her to know that he made Ron leave the frame, but she was worth it. He told the owl to hold on, and ran downstairs to find some food to send her.

After the owl was all loaded up, it took off into the night and Harry silently prayed that it found her fast, and alone.

He sat down ready to write another letter.

_Ron,_

I can't wait to go to your house and talk to Dumbledore to find out exactly what happened. Do you know anything about what happened or to whom? 

Harry  
  
Harry looked at the letter, and thought that it was too short but he needed to find out if Ron knew anything about the attack, with out mentioning that Hermione was the one that the Death Eaters held captive. He folded the letter and thought about putting it on Pig's leg, but remembered how he had gotten lost and he couldn't wait to see how much Ron knew. So he tied the letter to Hedwig and sent her off.

As Harry watched Hedwig go, he wondered if he would ever see Hermione again. He lay on his bed and prayed with all his might that she'd be safe and that he would be able to get her out of there.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Questions

Harry didn't have very long to wait for the Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to arrive. He had been lying on his bed for only about an hour before he heard a knock at the door. He shot out of bed and when he reached the landing he heard his aunt and uncle inquiring to each other if they were expecting anyone. Before they even got up from their seats in front of the television, Harry was downstairs and had opened the door anticipating the worst.

There stood Arthur and Molly Weasley. He was happy to see them, but was saddened by the reason they were here.

"Harry. How are you?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "You don't look like you've been eating well. Are they feeding you here?" she asked looking over his shoulder and into the house.

"Leave him alone, Molly dear." Said Mr. Weasley.

"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley. Truth be told I haven't really had much of an appetite the last couple of weeks." Said Harry.

"Of course you haven't, you poor dear." She said giving him the mothering look he's come to love and hate at the same time.

"All ready, Harry?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"I haven't had any time to pack," he told them.

"Oh, don't worry about that, dear, I'll nip upstairs and do it for you real quick. Are you taking everything?" Molly asked Harry.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley. Everything is going." Harry replied.

"Okay, dear. I'll be back in a few minutes." and with that, she went up the stairs.

Harry turned and looked at Mr. Weasley.

"What happened?" he asked trying to look like he didn't have a clue what was going on.

"There was an attack, Harry. We don't know on whom. This morning a member of the Order saw the Dark Mark go up into the sky. When he apparated to the scene, it was in the middle of an open field. So we know something has happened, we just don't know what yet. But we thought it was best to go ahead and bring you to our house for the time being. Professor Dumbledore will be coming to the house later on and he will tell us more there." Mr. Weasley finished, clearly wishing he had more to tell Harry.

Harry was doing his best to look like he had nothing to hide.

"Okay." was all he said.

Vernon and Petunia Dursley stood watching the interaction between Harry and the Weasleys. You couldn't tell by the look on their faces, but they were intently listening to every word that was said. Dudley, on the other hand, had ran into the kitchen with his hands trying to cover his bottom, the minute the Weasleys had walked into the house with their wands drawn. None of the Dursley's said a word when they saw Mrs. Weasley coming down the stairs with Harry's trunk floating in front of her, and Hedwig's cage and Harry's broomstick floating behind her. They just stood rooted to the spot and watched and listened.

Harry saw Mrs. Weasley coming down the stairs with all of his stuff. And remembered he hadn't told her about the loose floor board.

"Be right back, I forgot something." Said Harry running back up the stairs.

"Hurry, dear, we haven't much time." Said Mrs. Weasley.

"It'll only take a second." Said Harry.

He reached his room and flung himself on the floor. He wrenched up the floorboard and grabbed the pillow sack filled with odds and ends from the hole. He got up and made his way back downstairs.

"Got everything?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley." Said Harry.

Mrs. Weasley opened Harry's trunk and he put the pillow case inside.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." Said Harry noticing the neatness of his trunk.

"Not to worry, dear. I've had seven kids to practice on." She said smiling.

Harry smiled back.

"Are we all ready Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley asked turning to her husband.

"Yes, darling. All set." he replied.

"Mr. Weasley," Harry asked, "How are we getting there?"

"Portkey," he said. "It's the safest way. Okay, everyone grab on, less than a minute to spare." Mr. Weasley said as he pulled out an old and rusty toaster from his bag.

Harry and Mrs. Weasley did as they were told. Mr. Weasley and Harry each holding an end of his trunk and Mrs. Weasley awkwardly holding Harry's broomstick under her arm and Hedwig's cage in her hand.

"And three, two, one..."

And with a familiar pulling sensation at his navel, Harry looked at his aunt and uncle's astonished expression for a second, and then he was gone.

Draco had just gone to bed when the fluttering of wings rapped on his windowpane. He ran for the window and threw it open before the noise could alert anyone else in the house. Dobby might have wanted his freedom, but the other house elves in Malfoy Manor were very loyal to the family and he couldn't take the risk of any of them hearing something and reporting it to his mother and father. The moment the window was open the ruffled, wild-eyed owl flew inside and perched precariously on his shoulder. Draco undid the parchment attached to its leg and it flew away again and rested in a nearby tree. By the light of his wand, Draco unfurled the note so he could read it. It was no surprise to see it was from Potter.

_Malfoy_

I do not know what your intentions are nor do I care as long as you stay true and help Hermione. I have sent her some food and parchment and I told her to keep taking the food from the owl. I did not mention the role you are playing because she would not accept any thing from you out of distrust. I do not trust you either but I have no choice since you are there among the Death Eaters. However, Malfoy if I find out that you had a hand in the taking of Hermione or that you are playing some sort of game, only Merlin would be able to prevent me from killing you.

_Harry_

'If you only knew Harry. I am true to my word, but none of this is for you. It's only for her. She's worth it to me.' Draco thought after he laid back down.

The next evening Draco brought Harry's letter back out and reread it. Even if Potter didn't know it yet, he knew that Potter and Granger liked each other as more than just friends.

_Dear Potter:_

_Listen, I don't like you, but you seem to be lucky when it comes to You Know Who. Don't go and get yourself killed, yet anyway. I know you don't want anything happening to Granger, but don't do anything stupid. I'll help in any way I can. Like I said before, I'll try and find out more about what they're planning to do. I don't think they're going to hurt her. I don't know about her parents though. I overheard my mom talking to some other Death Eaters about them. It seems they were all together when they took Hermione. I don't know what they did with them. Luckily for both of us, I had some first year buy me some of those extendable ears from the Weasley twins. They've proven to come in handy. Don't write me back unless it's an emergency! Are you trying to get me killed? I'm not safe here if people think I'm not all evil. So if you want by help, I'll keep in contact with you. Not the other way around._

_I'll get back to you as soon as I know more._

_Draco._

Draco Malfoy tied the letter to his owl and sent him off to find Harry Potter.

Sometimes he couldn't believe that he was helping them, but one person would know why. She was the only reason he was doing this. Nobody knew it but them, but she changed his whole world.

Draco watched the eagle owl fly away and wonders if Harry will realize that he wants to keep him alive to kill you-know-who and save the world. Five minutes later, he was called down for supper.

Somewhere in an old and abandoned town on the outskirts of London there is a girl sitting in a cell all by herself with nothing to keep her company except the occasional rat, a letter, and a picture that she just received from her best friend in the world. That girl was no ordinary girl, though. She was a witch. And her name was Hermione Granger. She wasn't just any witch either, she was at the top of her class at the world renowned Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her current surroundings were nothing like she was used to. As daughter to two dentists, her home was extremely comfortable. And even at school, she was used to a brilliant four poster bed, richly decorated in hues of red and gold. She would frequent the lush squashy arm chairs in their common room next to a roaring fire. The only thing that came close to her cell here were the dungeons at Hogwarts, but even those always seemed warmer because she had her friends with her.

Hermione sat up against the wall of what appeared to be an old jail of some sort. Right now, though, she didn't care where she was or what the circumstances surrounding her were. All she cared about was the letter she had just received from the man she loved. He didn't know that, of course, but she knew it. To the depths of her soul, she knew this was the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. No matter how short it was.

She opened the letter. It seemed like every single word lifted her spirit. He cares. He's worried. He's coming to get me. Can he love me? Thought after thought flitted through her mind. That was the bad thing about being by yourself for so long. That is pretty much all you can do. Think. She had just finished reading "All my love" when she started crying. And then she noticed that the owl had something else. The next thing she took off the owl was what really brought her back though. She saw a picture of her and Harry. She thought to herself, "Wasn't Ron in this picture?" Then she laughed, almost unbelievingly, she wondered if Harry had done the same thing to his picture as she had done to almost all of hers. Made Ron leave the frame, so it was just her and Harry. Her heart soared. At that moment, she knew she would be just fine.

Ron and Ginny were sitting on the living room couch, when the next thing they knew, they heard a tremendous crash coming from the kitchen.

"Mum and dad are back!" Ron told Ginny.

"Let's go help. It doesn't sound like they had a very good landing." Ginny told her brother.

"Mum?" Ginny yelled.

"Dad?" Ron yelled.

"Harry?" They both yelled together.

"Yeah. We're in here." Mr. Weasley replied to the inquiries of his children.

They got to the kitchen and helped their parents and Harry up. And helped get Harry's stuff back into his trunk, because it had opened up when they landed. Once they had done all that, Ron and Ginny took turns giving Harry big hugs, and their parents too of course.

"Ron, help Harry take his trunk upstairs." Said Mrs. Weasley.

"Sure." Said Ron.

Once they had made it up the staircase and walked into the room Harry saw Hedwig sitting on Ron's window sill.

"I got your letter, mate. I don't know anything about what's happened. They just said that the Dark Mark had been spotted and that they were going to get you. I know what you mean about Dumbledore though. But I reckon that we can't just accept his answers anymore, we need to ask, and keep asking until he gives us a straight answer." Said Ron.

"I know. Your Dad didn't tell me anything more. Just that the Dark Mark was spotted over an open field. Either way, I'm still glad to be out of Privet Drive." Said Harry, not quite meeting Ron's eyes.

"Hey, have you heard from Hermione since you got home?" asked Ron.

"Erm, no. None of her usual novels. She must be having a great time on holiday with her parents." Said Harry. He almost choked as this lie was coming out of his mouth, but it had to be done. To keep Hermione safe, he had to lie.

If Ron noticed Harry's unease, he didn't mention it.

"Right, well I suppose we ought to go down with the rest, eh?" Asked Ron.

"Yeah, I reckon you're right." Said Harry.

They got up and made their way downstairs to join the rest of the Weasleys to await Dumbledore's arrival.

It was a very tense wait for the Weasleys and Harry. But fortunately, they didn't have to wait very long. Only about twenty minutes, actually. They were all staring at the fireplace when all of a sudden the familiar spurt of green flames sprang up and Professor Albus Dumbledore stepped out of the Weasleys fireplace and into their living room.

"Hello everyone. I hope you've had a good evening so far. I'm sorry to say that it's not now. Harry, has Mr. Weasley filled you in on what we know so far?" Dumbledore asked Harry.

"Yes, Professor. He said there's been an attack, but we don't know what happened, or to whom." Harry told the Professor.

"That's right, Harry. Unfortunately, we haven't found anything else out yet." Dumbledore looked as if he felt defeated. Like him not knowing everything was eating him up inside.

Harry knew he had to bring up Hermione, but he had to do it in a way that none of them suspected that he knew something more than he was telling them.

"Have you already contacted Hermione? Voldemort knows she's connected to me, and the fact that she's muggle-born doesn't help matters. She needs to be warned and brought here, preferably." Harry said trying to look innocent.

Dumbledore gave Harry that look, like he's seeing right through him. Harry held his gaze. Looking concerned; because he was.

"No, Harry. We haven't been able to reach them. They are on holiday in Spain for the summer." Dumbledore told Harry.

"We need to try harder. I'm very worried about her." Harry told the others in genuine honesty.

Ron looked at Harry. He could see in Harry's eyes how much he cared for her. He felt very uneasy about this. For he too, cared about her.

"Harry's right. We need to find Hermione and get her back here as soon as possible." Ron told Dumbledore.

Harry looked at Ron and silently thanked him.

"We will do our best, Harry. I promise, we will find her and her parents. But I don't think you need to be worried. The attack happened after they had already left on their trip and they weren't supposed to be back for another month. Well, I have to be going now. There is a lot of work to be done. I will contact you all tomorrow." Dumbledore said as he walked to the fireplace.

He threw some floo powder into the fireplace and stepped in. And with a simple "Hogwarts", he was gone.

Harry, Ron, Ginny and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just took turns looking at each other. All with the same worry and fear written all over their faces.

"Well, you lot should best be up to bed now. I'm sure we'll know more tomorrow." Mrs. Weasley told her children and Harry.

"Yeah, mum. You're probably right." Ron said.

"We'll see you in the morning." Ginny told her parents.

And the three walked up the stairs to their rooms.

Dumbledore stepped out of the flames into his office at Hogwarts. Immediately he began pacing around the front of his desk, his eyes fixed firmly on the ground and his heart heavy with worry, fear and intrigue. Harry knew something, he was sure of it. He didn't need to read the young wizard's mind to know Harry was privy to information that Dumbledore wasn't but he found that he could not read the Gryffindor as easily as he had in the past. He stopped pacing and strode around to his desk and sat down and wrote down a message on some parchment then waved his wand over it so it copied itself several times. Then he made his way up to the owlery and sent several owls on their way in every direction. The message was simple.

_Find the Grangers and keep them safe. _

He stared out into the night for several minutes before making his way back to the office and immediately resuming his pacing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Secrets Kept

Harry, Ron and Ginny made their way up the winding steps of the Burrow to their rooms. Ginny said goodnight outside of her room and Ron and Harry kept climbing. When they finally got to Ron's room they went inside and Harry was bombarded once again with the familiar burst of orange coming from all over the room.

"Now that the twins are gone, you can stay in their room if you like, but we haven't had the chance to fix it up yet." Ron told Harry.

"Oh, that's okay Ron. I'll only go down there if you're snoring gets too loud for me to handle." Harry told his best friend.

Ron smiled. "It's good to see you, mate."

"You too. I just wish Hermione were here." Harry said.

"Yeah, me too."

"I'm really tired. Ginny and I had to de-gnome the garden today, it seems they've been living there all school year. Man, I miss Fred and George." Ron said while looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Okay, Ron. Goodnight." Harry said.

"Yeah, you too." Ron said while stifling a yawn.

They both changed and got into bed. Ron, it seemed fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but Harry on the other hand couldn't sleep. He knew the woman he loved was out there somewhere all alone and she was scared. And he would stop at nothing to get her back.

'The woman I love.' Harry repeated in his mind.

"Where did that come from?"

'I don't know, but I think I like the sound of that.'

Harry was torn from his thoughts when he heard a soft tapping on Ron's window. He reached for his glasses and saw it was the wild owl. He got up and opened the window to let it in. He untied the letter from the owl and watched it fly away. Then he decided to see if the coast was clear downstairs so he could read the letter.

He crept down the stairs softly, skipping the steps her knew creaked and stopped at the last landing to listen. He didn't hear anything after a full minute, so he continued the trek to the kitchen. Harry got something to eat out of the cupboard and opened Malfoy's letter.

"I don't like you." Malfoy wrote.

"Yeah, like I like you, huh." Harry told the letter.

"Hermione's parents? I didn't even think about them. What am I going to tell Hermione when she asks about them?"

"Extendable Ears. I bet if Fred and George knew Malfoy was buying them, they'd have cursed them to turn his ears blue." Harry thought to himself.

"Okay, won't write you unless it's an emergency." Harry made a mental note of that.

Then he walked out onto the porch and sat thinking, waiting for the sun to rise.

Ginny sat in bed with her arms wrapped around her knees and stared out her window. The pink hues of dawn were already spreading across the sky and she was contemplating getting out of bed and having breakfast. Not that she was very hungry. Far from it. Instead she worried about Harry. It was obvious he cared a great deal for Hermione and Ginny was happy for him. The only problem was, her brother Ron cared deeply for the pretty witch too. She cared about the well-being of both wizards and she didn't want to see either of them getting hurt but she couldn't shake the feeling that the special friendship the three had shared for all these years might be at stake.

Harry came inside to start breakfast just as Ginny was coming down the last couple of stairs.

"Good morning Harry." said Ginny.

"Morning, Gin." said Harry.

"What were you doing outside? And what are you doing up so early?" Ginny asked Harry.

"Oh, I just woke up a little while ago, and I went outside to watch the sun rise." Harry lied.

"Oh." said Ginny. Knowing full well that Harry was lying, because she'd been up for a long time, and she didn't hear Harry pass her room.

Harry didn't know why he was lying to Ginny, but knew that if he'd told her he'd been up all night, she'd think he knew more than he said.

Ginny didn't know exactly why Harry was lying but she did know that Harry really cared a lot about Hermione. She knew in her heart that Harry loved Hermione, and that Ron's affection was more of a crush. She was very worried about what was going to happen to her brother when he finds out. And she was very curious to find out how Hermione felt.

Harry and Ginny had both come into the kitchen with intentions to start breakfast, but got caught up talking instead. The next thing they knew, the sun was shining bright in the sky and they heard more footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Good morning mum," said Ginny.

"Morning Mrs. Weasley. Did you get a good night sleep?" asked Harry.

"Morning dears, and yes, thank you Harry. How about you guys?" said Mrs. Weasley walking over to make some coffee.

"Yeah, mum." lied Ginny.

"Sure, Mrs. Weasley." lied Harry.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, both with guilty looks on their faces. Neither of them liked lying to Mrs. Weasley, but they didn't really have a choice.

After about twenty minutes Mr. Weasley was coming down the stairs and Mrs. Weasley was almost done with breakfast.

"Morning everyone. Any owls arrive yet." Mr. Weasley asked as he came into the kitchen.

"None." said Harry. He wondered why that was the first thing he asked.

"Ron still sleeping?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Of course." said Ginny. "When is he not?"

They all set around the table and started eating breakfast. Mrs. Weasley had a wonderful assortment of eggs, and bacon, and kippers, and biscuits, and waffles, and oatmeal. Harry didn't load up his plate, but got a bit of everything. Seeing all the food made him think of Ron.

"Do you think we should wake Ron?" Harry asked.

"NO!" they all replied in unison.

"We want to eat first," said Mr. Weasley.

"He's such a bear in the morning," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Let's make sure there's food for us, then he can have the rest." said Ginny.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I forget when we're at Hogwarts. The food is never ending." said Harry. And everyone laughed.

Everyone had long finished eating, and the sun was high in the sky by the time Ron had come downstairs. Harry and Ginny were outside taking a walk, Mr. Weasley had gone into the office, and Mrs. Weasley was doing some cleaning when Ron came into the kitchen.

"Morning mum." Said Ron as he stifled a yawn.

"More like good afternoon, you lazy git." Said Mrs. Weasley as she was wiping down the counters. "It's already past noon. Why do you insist on sleeping so much, Ronald?" She asked her son.

"Making up for lost time at Hogwarts." Ron replied.

"Are you hungry?" Mrs. Weasley out of habit. Because she always knew the answer to that question when Ron was involved.

"Starved." Was all he could get out.

Mrs. Weasley served his plate with overflowing piles of eggs and bacon and sausage and ham and pancakes and toast and whatever else she could find.

"Is that all?" Ron asked his mother looking like all he got was a piece of bread and some water.

"That's everything that was left. We had an extra mouth to feed this morning, or did you already forget that Harry came last night." Mrs. Weasley told her son. She was trying very hard not to look embarrassed.

"Sorry, I did forget about Harry. This is more than enough, mum."

Ron got to work eating. While Mrs. Weasley continued to clean up the kitchen.

"Where is Harry, by the way?" Ron asked.

"Went out for a walk. With Ginny." said Mrs. Weasley.

"Really." Said Ron.

That got the wheels spinning in Ron's mind. Maybe he doesn't like Hermione, maybe he's starting to like Ginny. That would work for me. I don't want to compete with Harry for Hermione.

And Ron finished eating his breakfast/lunch with a smile on his face.

Molly Weasley smiled affectionately at Ron as he brought his plate over to the sink and she reached up and ruffled his hair as he turned and walked outside looking for Harry and Ginny. My, her youngest son was so tall now, soon she'd have to reach on tip toe to kiss his cheek on the rare occasion he let her show him any public displays of affection. One by one her children were growing up and leaving home. She knew it was the way things were supposed to be but it didn't mean she had to like it. She supposed she should be grateful they were only leaving home, not disappearing out of her life forever. She closed her eyes and shuddered as she remembered the boggart she had found in a cupboard at Grimmald Place when she was cleaning up Sirius Black's house and how it had changed into each of her children, so cold and lifeless and she couldn't do a thing to save them. She did not know what she would do if anything ever happened to one of her children and that included Harry and Hermione as well. What would any mother do when faced with the loss of her child?

Ginny and Harry were sitting on top of a hill behind the house. It was a beautiful cool morning but that was changing as the afternoon sun climbed higher into the sky.  
The two had been talking about nothing important. The small chat seemed to hide something that was dying to breakout. Harry did not know why but he had the feeling that Ginny was either hiding something or trying to find out something. There was an uneasiness that was not there before. "Harry can I ask you a question?"

Harry became uncomfortable by the way Ginny has proposed her question; there was a fragileness that he never noticed before. What ever was on her mind, it was something hard for her to ask. He was not certain if it was the rays from the sun or the question Ginny was about to ask that caused him to feel clammy and hot. He knew Ginny was a talented witch with good observation skills and he hoped she would not question him further on why he had lied about being up most of the night. He knew he could not tell her of all he knew, but when he looked at her, the way she hid her eyes, he got the feeling that this was important to her.

"What's on your mind, Ginny? he asked in the most reserved voice he could muster.

"Harry, Can I talk to you about Draco?" Asked Ginny, almost reluctantly.

"You can talk to me about anything Ginny." said Harry. He was terrified about what she had to say about Draco. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"Well, I don't know if you know this, but I wasn't doing very well in potions last year." Ginny said.

"Okay, but what does that have to do with Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Well, Snape pulled me aside one day after class and said that if I didn't get some help that I would most likely fail potions. I asked him if he might be able to help me, so he set me up with a tutor." she looked at Harry. "That tutor was Draco Malfoy." she told him.

"Oh, Ginny, why didn't you tell us earlier. I know Hermione, for one, would have been happy to help you out. Why didn't you come to us when you first started having trouble?" Harry earnestly asked her.

"I don't know, you all had other things to worry about. V-v-voldemort being back and all. And you had your OWL's and everything. It just never really felt like a good time to bring it up. And so I went to Snape, and he set me up with a tutor. I didn't know who it was going to be, and when I found out it was Malfoy, I tried to get out of it. But he turned out to be a really good teacher. And he was never mean to me." Ginny told Harry, not looking him in the eye.

"Ginny, what are you trying to tell me?" Harry asked, forcing her to look at him.

"Draco and I are together, Harry." Ginny told him, her eyes starting to fill with tears.

"You what. You. Together. Malfoy?" Harry said.

"What about Malfoy?" said Ron. He had just come into sight on the hill where Harry and Ginny were sitting. They looked at each other with dread filling both of their eyes.

Harry and Ginny just continued looking anywhere but at Ron. Neither wanted to be the first to speak.

"I said 'What about Malfoy?' What has he done this time? It's vacation. Why are you talking about Malfoy?" Ron said.

'He doesn't seem angry. Or at least not as angry as he'd be if he heard us talking. Maybe he didn't hear.' Harry thought to himself.

'Oh, god, please don't let him have heard. Please don't let him have heard.' Was all that was going through Ginny's mind.

"Um, nothing. Just, you know, how much we hate him, and uh, stuff like that, you know." Said Harry.

Ginny just smiled nervously and shook her head. "Yeah, hate his guts." said Ginny.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I can't wait 'til we graduate and I can do whatever I want to him." Said Ron. And then his face went all happy, like he was picturing himself doing all kinds of hideous spells on Malfoy.

Harry and Ginny both sighed with relief.

Remus Lupin was sitting in front of a warm fire with a glass of firewhiskey at his small house in Sussex. He normally stayed at Grimmauld Place, but had to get away for a while after finding yet another reminder of Sirius in the house. He was going through a stack of reports of alleged Death Eaters attacks and Voldemort sightings when he heard the familiar tapping of an owl at his window. He set down his glass, moved the files off his lap and got up to let the owl in. He was surprised to see that it was Hedwig, Harry's owl. He and Harry didn't keep regular correspondence, unfortunately for them both. He'd been trying to keep busy by helping out Kingsley and Tonks determine which of these reports were false, and which they needed to check out. He found that the more he worked, and the busier he was the less he thought about the death of his friend. Because every time he thought about Sirius, he thought about the thirteen years that they should have had together. There was nothing he could have done to prevent the death of James and Lily, but he should have believed in his friend. Stood up for him, done something. Maybe if he just would have tried, Sirius wouldn't have gone to Azkaban, and he and Sirius could have helped raise Harry. Then Harry wouldn't have had to go and live with the Dursleys. Remus tried not to dwell on the 'what-ifs' but sometimes found it hard.

He was awoken from his self misery by Hedwig hooting.

"Hey there girl." Lupin told the owl. "What do have for me?"

He took the letter from the owl noticing the three other letters still attached to her ankle. He summoned a bowl and water from his kitchen and dug out pack of owl treats from his desk drawer.

"Why don't you rest for a bit." He told the owl affectionately.

Hedwig looked at him reproachfully, but rested for a few minutes anyway.

Lupin sat back down and opened the letter. He was a little surprised at Harry's casual mention of his parents in the letter, but understood when Harry said he felt numb. He'd gotten a letter from Dumbledore saying that the Dark Mark had been spotted, but knew that they had no further information, as of yet. He was concerned about what Harry wanted to talk to him about.

_Harry_

_First of all, I want you to know that you can come to me with any problem you have. I'm glad that you've asked me to come see you. I've been meaning to get by to see you this last week but was sidetracked with work. I have a few more things to finish up here, but should be able to get to you in a couple of days. I haven't heard anything about Hermione, but I'm not really sure what about Hermione you need to talk about. I've been staying at Headquarters, but am currently at my own residence. Everyone is doing fine. I'll be able to give you more details in person. I actually haven't seen the traitor since Dumbledore talked to him. I'll have to ask him the next time I see him if he knows where he's at. You never have to thank me for helping you. I would do it every time. Try to keep your spirits up. I'll be seeing you soon._

_Remus_

Remus gave the letter to Hedwig and sent her off.

'I wonder what Harry needs to talk to me about.' Remus thought to himself. 'I wonder if he's finally figured out his feelings for Hermione.' He almost smiled at the thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Playing The Part

Hermione smiled thinly as once more the wild looking owl made its way into the prison cell she had been calling home for Merlin knows how long now. She didn't like not knowing what day it was or how long she had been here. It signified a loss of control that she was very unfamiliar with.

The bird glided down beside her and she was surprised to see it lean forward almost as if it was bowing to her before it straightened up and stuck out its leg for her to take the food it carried which Hermione quickly and gratefully consumed although she was careful to save some in case the owl didn't come back. She had a little stash of crusts, fruit and cheese hidden in the room and the only good thing about the coldness of the room was that it kept the food at just the right temperature.

She was just licking the last few crumbs off her fingers when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her room. Instantly the owl flew off and Hermione ran into the shadows in a far corner. She could hear the sound of a key turning in the lock and it was then that she noticed a carefully folded piece of parchment in the middle of the floor.

She knew she only had seconds to react, so she leapt forward, somewhat cat-like and landed inches away from the parchment. She quickly stuffed the parchment into her pocket and leapt back to her corner. She had just sat down when the door opened and a beam of light hit her. She was out of breath, but tried to hide it.

Three hooded figures entered the room.

"How's our little captive today, not dead I hope." said the first Death Eater.

Hermione knew she recognized that voice, and it was killing her that she couldn't quite place it.

"You'd better hope not." Said the second Death Eater. "Or it will be on you. I'm sure the Dark Lord wouldn't be very pleased if that were to happen."

Hermione instantly knew who this was. It was Snape. She'd recognize that voice anywhere. She decided to play along. She didn't want them suspecting anything. She just prayed that he was still on their side.

"You! I knew it. I knew you hadn't reformed. Everyone thinks you have. They say you were bewitched, but I knew you were evil. The way you treated us Gryffindors, how could you not be?" Hermione said, hoping it sounded convincing, and that he wouldn't be mad at her for saying it.

"Well, well. Our little mudblood has a spine after all. You'll learn to lose it soon enough." said Snape. "Give her the food. I won't let her die on my watch."

The third Death Eater walked towards her. He made a tray appear out of thin air, and then on it appeared some sandwiches and water, and an apple. It was the best looking apple Hermione had ever seen. Snape saw her eyeing the apple. He took it off the tray.

"This is for your cheek." Said Snape, and he bit into the apple. "You two do a sweep around the building, I'll watch her while she eats."

"Okay" the two Death Eaters said in unison, and left the cell.

Snape closed the door behind them and took some candles out of his cloak and lit them.

"How are you doing Miss Granger?" Snape asked.

He sounded worried. Hermione could have jumped up and hugged him.

Snape's eyes widened in shock and he took a step or two back as if he were surprised and then quickly recovered. 'She hadn't really meant to hug him, had she? It was just a form of gratitude, nothing for him to worry about'. Not that Hermione was aware of the thoughts transpiring in the professor's mind. She was not aware he had just read hers. He had a problem with physical contact. He could not remember the last time anyone had shown him any real affection and he was happy that way too. At least, he had thought he was happy. These days he wasn't so sure.

He looked down at the young witch who was now devouring her meal as if she were starving and she probably was. Merlin knows how long it had been since she'd last eaten anything of real sustenance. He looked down at the apple he held in his hand and produced a new one and set it down at her side, smiling gently as she picked that up and took a huge bite. He crouched down beside her and whispered in her ear and she listened intently, feeling strangely comforted by the tone of his voice. A tone that she had never heard before in all her years in his Potions class. She only wished he had better news to tell her.

"You know, I kind of liked the way Malfoy looked when we left him on the train last month. I wonder if we could keep practicing with the spells and jinxes we used until we find that same combination." Said Ron.

Harry laughed somewhat meekly. "We did get him pretty good, eh?"

"Good? It was bloody brilliant!" Exclaimed Ron.

"Yeah, it was." Said Harry.

"Maybe we could brew up some flesh eating potion, and use it to wipe the smug look off Malfoy's face." Suggested Ron.

"That's a good idea, mate, but you know it'd have to be Hermione that made the potion. With our luck we'd end up making a potion that made him irresistible or something." Said Harry smiling.

Ron laughed at this until he saw the change in Harry's face.

Harry had been smiling at thinking of Hermione when he remembered that he still hadn't heard back from her. 'Why hasn't she written me back yet?'

"Everything okay, mate?" asked Ron.

Harry quickly hid his emotions. "Yeah, just thinking."

"About what?"

"About a few things I'd like to do to Malfoy next time he insults us." Said Harry, trying to cover himself.

"Oh, I know. I hate the smarmy…." Ron trailed off.

"Me too." Said Harry half-heartedly, mentally swearing that he'd be grateful to the Slytherin for the rest of his life if it meant he'd get his Hermione back.

Ron and Harry spent the next twenty minutes describing all of the spells they'd like to try on Malfoy as soon as the graduate. If Ron noticed that Harry wasn't really into the conversation he didn't show it. They were so busy trading ideas that neither of them noticed that Ginny had slipped away.

Ginny couldn't take it any more. She had been listening to Harry and Ron talking about cursing, jinxing, and hexing Malfoy for ten minutes and she'd had enough. So she slipped off while they were both laughing at Ron's latest idea.

Ginny walked into the kitchen to find her mom making up some sandwiches for lunch.

"Oh, hello dear. Did you have a nice walk?" Molly asked her daughter.

"Yeah, it was good enough 'til Ron came and ruined everything." Ginny said.

"Oh, you know your brother. He has the worlds' worst timing." said Molly.

"That's the understatement of the year." said Ginny.

They both laughed.

"So, uh, you and Harry. Do you still fancy him?" Molly asked her far-to-young-to-be-dateable daughter.

"Who, Harry? Nah. I got over him. He only ever saw me as a little sister anyway. Sorry to disappoint everyone. I've moved on." said Ginny.

"Really. I guess I knew deep down that you and Harry wouldn't happen, but a mother can dream. So, moved on to anyone special?" Molly asked.

Ginny looked outside. Ron and Harry were nowhere in sight.

"Mom," Ginny started gently, "how do you feel about Draco Malfoy?"

Molly caught the platter of sandwiches just before they fell and only just managed to disguise her surprise at her daughter's words. The name Malfoy, especially used in a romantic genre was a topic she never dreamed she would come across, not in her own house and certainly not into her daughter's most emotionally vulnerable years.

She put the sandwiches on the table and conjured pitchers of juice, glasses, cake and various other finger foods while she tried to come up with a suitable reply for her daughter who was now staring at her as if she knew her heart was about to be broken. Molly took a deep breath. 

"Well to be honest, I never really thought about it. His father was a handsome man and by all accounts Draco is a fine looking young man too. But it takes more than good looks to make a heart happy".

Ginny scowled. "Don't you think I know that? I'm not a baby any more".

Molly rushed to her side and put her arm around her daughter's shoulders and indicated for Ginny to sit down at the table with her.

"Of course you're not. You've grown into a fine young woman. But I'm your mother. It's my job to look out for you." Ginny gave a half hearted smile and rolled her eyes.

"Does Draco know how you feel about him? Does he feel the same way about you?" She held her breath, not sure if she really wanted to hear her daughter's answer but somehow, the look in Ginny's eyes told her far more than words could ever say.

She knew her daughter was in love. And she knew her daughter. She knew her daughter's heart. And in that instant she somehow knew that Ginny had found her match.

It brought back memories of when she and Arthur had started going out. When Ogg the caretaker had caught Arthur when they had snuck out of the common room to take a walk. He had proposed to her that night. It was near the end of their seventh year. And Molly had never been happier. At least not until Bill was born. And that moment was only exceeded with the birth of each of her children after that. Molly knew she was a very lucky woman. She may not have a lot of money, but she was the richest person in the world when it came to love.

She knew Ginny was brought up right. And she knew Ginny made wise decisions. Ginny may only be 15 years old, but she knew Ginny had found the love of her life. And she was happy for her daughter, and could only hope that Draco Malfoy deserved her daughters love.

Hermione Granger is the smartest student in her class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was still awaiting her OWL results, but was pretty confident she got at least an E in every test. She didn't want to be stuck up, but she knew she had done well on her exams. As she was sitting alone in her cell, she found herself doing two things almost constantly. One was going over random facts in her head about all of the stuff she had studied for her OWL's. Everything from potions ingredients to complicated transfiguration incantations to coordinates of each of Jupiter's four moons, the names of Jupiter's moons, of course, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, to translations of Ancient Runes, to lengthy Arthimancy equations. Her mind was always going. In fact she was thinking so much that she would get headaches and find it hard to get any sleep. The other thing that the young witch was constantly doing was looking at a photograph of her and her best friend. It was starting to wear around the edges and starting to bend around the corners. But she didn't care. This picture was the only thing keeping her alive. Yeah, she had a store of food and water hidden behind a brick Professor Snape helped her loosen, but the picture of her and Harry kept her going. It gave her a reason to keep breathing. To keep eating. It gave her hope. She knew that she wanted to get back. Yeah, for her parents, and yeah for Ron and Ginny, yeah for Hogwarts; but mostly, she wanted to get back to Harry. She wasn't going to waste any more time on hiding her feelings. As soon as she got back, she was going to tell Harry how she felt. And she was going to make sure he felt the same way about her. So, Hermione Granger continued to go over all of the random facts flashing through her mind, spells from charms, defensive spells, jinxes, hexes, curses, she kept going over all of the magical creatures she'd studied with Hagrid, and all about the various goblin rebellions, and she kept looking at the picture of her and the man she loved. And she knew that this was the man she was going to marry. And she continued to eat, and drink and sleep, for who knows how long, until she remembered she was supposed to write Harry back!

Harry ran a hand through his messy hair as he scanned the skies for the strange owl that was his only link with Hermione. His only way of knowing that she still breathed as he did. Well, that's what he had been thinking right up until yesterday when he expected her reply. What could have happened to her? Had something happened to Malfoy's owl? Had they been caught or worse?

He had no way of knowing the answers to any of his questions and now he was having an extremely hard time trying to control his worry, his fears and his usually placid nature. More than once the thought crossed his mind that Malfoy had betrayed them and over and over in his mind little scenes played out about what may have happened and it was quickly driving him crazy. And now that he knew that Ginny was in love with the Slytherin and maybe he was in love with her too, well it just complicated things even more. 

If Malfoy was even half as crazy about Ginny as Harry was about Hermione. Suddenly Harry stopped and stared at his reflection in the window before him. Crazy? He was totally and helplessly in love with the Gryffindor witch and when he rescued her, and he had every intention of doing so, he would tell her exactly how he felt. No more of this hiding behind friendships and schoolboy crushes. These feelings were real and he was meant to share them with her. If only he got the chance.

He pressed his brow against the cool glass and stared out even as the sun went down and twilight painted the sky in burning oranges, vivid pinks and bruising purples that quickly blended together and formed the first touches of night. At last, knowing that he could see no more, he turned away from the window and wiped a tear from his eye and then jumped and whirled around, his wand brandished before him as a shadowy lump connected with the window pain. It was Malfoy's owl.

Harry couldn't seem to get to the window fast enough. But a stander-by would realize that Harry probably made a new world record in speed as he darted to the window and wrenched it open. He practically tore the owl's leg off in his haste to read Hermione's reply. With trembling hands he opened the letter.

_My dearest Harry,_

First and foremost, I'm not hurt. Just scared. They're giving me two meals a day, so don't send food very often. I'm keeping a stash though, just in case they stop feeding me. I'd like to know who it is that is helping me though, other than you of course. I have an idea, but I'd rather hear it from you. I'm sorry this reply is so late. If it is at all. I can't really tell the time here, and I don't know how long has passed since I've been here. Thank you so much for the picture. You don't know how much it means to me here. Snape's been here a couple of times, so I'm sure he's keeping the Order up to date. I don't know why they haven't come and rescued me yet, but I'm sure Dumbledore has his reasons. I so miss you. And Ron and Ginny of course, but mostly you. I'm waiting for you to come and get me Harry. I don't want you putting your life in danger, but you're going to anyway. I think it's wise, not telling them. The Order, I mean. That we're in contact. It will only make things harder. Please come and get me soon. I don't want to die here Harry. Not without telling people I love, that I love them. This place isn't good for me Harry. It's killing me. It's not killing my body. My body could probably survive here forever. But it's killing my mind Harry. It's killing my heart. Harry, it's killing my soul. I'm not meant to die here. Not without the man I love. Please come and get me soon Harry. Because I love you Harry. I really do. With all my heart and soul. Please come and get me soon. Come and tell me you love me too. I need you Harry.

All my love,

Hermione.

PS. How are my parents. Have the Order heard from them?

Harry didn't realize it, but he had been sobbing for nearly twenty minutes before Ginny came walking through his door.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Red Dragon

Hermione had just finished writing her letter and sent it off with the owl. She had no idea what possessed her to write all of those things to Harry. Well, sure she felt all of those things, but since when did she let that cloud her judgment. Wasn't she the one who was always the voice of reason? Wasn't she the one, who not one month ago tried to dissuade Harry from going after Sirius? Yes, she was. So what in the world had gotten into her? She was absolutely furious with herself. And she knew there was nothing she could do about it. The owl could be gone for days, and by the time it got back, Harry may have already acted. She knew she couldn't live with herself if anything happened to Harry while he was trying to rescue her. She knew she would die without him. But she also knew that Harry was the most able young wizard she knew. And she also knew that both her, and Harry needed for this to happen. She knew how guilty he felt she got cursed in the Department of Mysteries. And she knew that saving her this time, would help put him at ease. And she knew that she needed to know that Harry was able to save her. She knew, deep down that he could, but she also knew that it had to be proven. So she is going to let Harry save her. For both their sakes.

Ginny burst out of the Burrow and did not notice her mother run to the door in panic nor hear Harry call to her from the window of Ron's bedroom. As she moved out into the garden Harry raced down the stairs and made up some ridiculous story to Molly about having a bit of a tiff with Ginny that the older witch wasn't buying for one minute.

She glared suspiciously at the tracks of the tears still visible on Harry's face and how his eyes looked red and raw and she knew that something had deeply upset him. It certainly didn't look like some silly little tiff to her. Had he and Ginny been talking about Hermione and somehow it managed to escalate into a full-blown argument? Or maybe they had been discussing Ginny's new romance? She could well imagine the boy's thoughts about that. And what exactly was Harry hiding in his hands? 

As if he sensed she was trying to discover something, Harry turned and raced outside leaving a very angry yet thoughtful witch behind him. Harry had a fair idea of where Ginny would be going. She had left his room in tears herself after spending almost an hour just holding him tight and letting him cry his heart out over Hermione. When he seemed to have gained control of himself again, Ginny had stood and looked more determined then he could ever remember and vowed that she would get Draco and together they would help him get Hermione out. She couldn't bear to see him so unhappy and she was just as worried sick about Hermione as he was.

And then, ignoring the shocked look on his face and easily evading his outstretched arms, she had run from the room and was out the door before he even had a chance to yell out her name or make any further attempt to stop her. Merlin, he had no idea she was that fast. And all the while as he ran, his mind turned over the possibilities of Ginny's words.

He knew Draco was helping by sending the owl and he was risking a lot to do it. And sure there was a possibility that he really cared for Ginny and would do anything that she asked of him. But it was Draco Malfoy. The chances of the two wizards actually getting along and working together - well it was almost impossible to contemplate.

At last he stopped running and leant over and rested his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Ginny had too much of a head start on him and he could barely see in front of him now that night had finally claimed the skies. He would never catch her now. All he could do was hope that whatever she had planned, Draco would be willing to discuss it with him first. And really, he didn't like the odds of that happening at all.

Harry continued walking a while after he caught his breath. He didn't know exactly where Ginny thought she was going. Sure, she wanted to get Malfoy, but she didn't really think she was going to walk all the way to Malfoy Manor. She didn't have anything. No food, or money, and Harry wasn't even sure if she had her wand with her. He decided he'd better go back and warn Molly. As per usual, he couldn't live with himself if something horrible happened to Ginny while she was trying to help him. He started making his way back to the Burrow.

Molly Weasley was waiting for Harry when he got back twenty minutes later. She was just getting ready to lay into him when she noticed that her daughter wasn't with him. She looked to the clock above the mantelpiece. This wasn't any regular old clock though, it was very curious. It had nine hands on it. Each of them representing one of the nine Weasley's. Molly's hand was currently resting on the home position. All of the men in the family, excluding Ron, were currently still resting on the work position. Ron's said home, as he was upstairs fast asleep in the twins room. And then she spotted Ginny's. Her hand was pointing to the traveling position.

"Where is my daughter?" Mrs. Weasley said in a barely concealed shout.

"Er..." said Harry.

"Where is my daughter!" Mrs. Weasley asked again.

Harry didn't know what Ginny had told her mother. And didn't know how he was going to explain where she was and why she was going there without letting it slip that he knew about Hermione. But he knew that he would have to deal with that later. Right now Ginny's safety was at stake.

"She's on her way to Malfoy Manor to get Draco so they can help me rescue Hermione who's been kidnapped by Death Eaters and held hostage for who knows how long now." Harry said all in one breath. "And don't you dare try and stop us." Harry added.

Mrs. Weasley didn't know what to say. She couldn't believe Harry was talking to her in this way, but she was almost proud of him. Proud of him for loving Hermione they was he most obviously does, and proud of him for coming back and facing her, rather then continuing after Ginny.

But she didn't know everything, and once she does, her thoughts about her children, Harry and Hermione will change forever.

Ginny came to a small clearing in the field and looked around as if trying to peer into all the shadows and hoped desperately that nothing was peering back at her. The risk of being caught was great but nowhere near the risk that she was sure Harry was about to take if she didn't help him. His reaction to Hermione's letter told Ginny that he was desperate enough to try something and she couldn't let him do it alone, she just couldn't.

As she had run to this particular destination she had found herself thinking how liberating it felt to know how Hermione and Harry really felt for each other. Liberating in a way that told her she was well and truly over her crush for the Boy who Lived. She had not felt one iota of jealousy or envy or grief. Instead she felt free to embrace them both in the love of a friendship that would last a lifetime. And frankly, it was about time they came to terms with their true feelings. Ginny definitely had.

Now certain that she was completely alone, Ginny withdrew her wand from her jeans pocket (since last year's attack at the Ministry, she always carried her wand with her) and prepared her stance ready to attempt a spell that had yet to be taught to anyone her age. Really she should not even be trying it for the consequences of a mistake were very grave and even fatal but still she had to try. There was no other way to cover the distance from where she was to Draco's home.

Thanking Merlin that she had had the foresight to study Percy's old school books and practice the theory of this spell until her eyes were dry from lack of blinking and her yawns threatened to dislocate her jaw, Ginny said the words that would let her apparate instantly to Malfoy Manor. She prayed that she would get there safely and in one piece.

Time meant nothing as she felt her body disappear and then reappear a moment later inside one of the rooms on the topmost floor of Malfoy Manor. She held her breath as she ran her hands over her body and then smiled to discover she was still in one piece and that she'd executed the spell perfectly. She was grateful that Draco had placed the charm on her before school let out that would allow her entrance to Malfoy Manor with out setting off the house. If it weren't for the charm she wouldn't have been able to apparate into the Manor, and if she had somehow been able to get in she would have set off the spell put in place to alert of all non-Malfoy blood entering the house. Carefully she made her way to the door and opened it slowly. Really, the aparating had been the easy part. The hard part would be finding Draco without being seen by his father, his mother or the many servants that lived here.

Ginny quietly opened the door, praying to Merlin that it wouldn't squeak too badly. She knew that Malfoy Manor was one of the oldest mansions in London (at least that was where Draco told her it was). She knew that more than likely doors squeaked and floorboards creaked, but she had no other choice than to continue. She had come this far after all. She couldn't return home to Harry without help in some form, either knowledge, man-power, or preferably both. She had to find Draco. 

Now, from what little he had told her, she knew that his bedroom was now located somewhere in the west wing of the Manor, on the third floor. He had previously been closer to the wing his parents inhabited, but had decided to move last year. He had changed, and they both prayed his parents hadn't suspected anything.

When Draco's father was captured at the end of last year he was secretly delighted because he knew his mother asked far less questions than his father did. Lucius Malfoy wanted to know every detail of his son's life at Hogwarts. Who his friends were (Slytherins, of course), what girls he had been seeing (for if he was truly Lucius Malfoy's son, it would definitely be plural in the girls department, and of course they were Slytherin and the occasional Ravenclaw, whoever would give it up the easiest), and most importantly who his enemies were (and they would naturally be Gryffindors). Draco would laugh to himself every time he saw looks of longing from the Harry trio when he would get his mail everyday. They all thought he was getting sweets from his mother, and he was, but he was also getting letters from his father, almost daily asking him endless questions. Lucius was a very paranoid man. You almost have to be when you're a Death Eater. Any day you could be killed. And it was a definite possibility lately. The Dark Lord was in a right state after Harry Potter got the best of him for the fifth time last month.

But Draco's mother was far too busy to be worrying about Draco lately. Malfoy Manor had become a makeshift headquarters in the last few weeks. Voldemort himself had not shown himself, but Bellatrix had come to visit her sister on several occasions on behalf of the Dark Lord. None of the Death Eaters ever ventured into Draco's wing, although Bellatrix had come close one day. Luckily Draco had spotted her and went to meet her instead. He had never met his Aunt and wasn't in a hurry to get to know her, but he knew he had to keep up appearances. So he but on a face and braved it every day for close to six months now, and he did it all for one red-haired girl.

Speaking of that red-haired girl, it couldn't be Ginny that Draco thought he saw coming down the hallway. She wasn't dumb enough to try this. She knew the consequences if she were to get caught, they had talked about it several...

And before Draco could finish his train of thought the red-haired girl he was so in love with jumped the remaining three feet into his arms and started kissing him madly.

Draco dragged them both backwards towards his room still kissing the young woman that had so suddenly appeared before him and quickly kicked the door shut behind him. At last, regretfully, he withdrew his lips from hers and gathered her up in a tight hug. "For Merlin's sake, Ginny. What are you doing here? Do you want to get us both killed?" And then he noticed her tears. "What's wrong?"

"Oh Draco", she sobbed. "Something terrible is going to happen". She went on to explain the letter Harry had received and the outpouring of feelings Hermione had shown him leaving no doubt as to the depth of her love for him. "And now I'm afraid he's going to do something stupid". Draco threw back his head and laughed and did not notice the glare she gave him. "Potter is always doing something stupid. He can't help himself".

He quickly stopped laughing when Ginny stamped her foot and he knew he did not want to face the famous Weasley temper. He had experienced it several times already and he was not interested in seeing it again. At least, not right now. Ginny's temper and the way they always made up afterwards were some of the things he loved about her the most.

"What do you think he'll do?" He asked, although he had a fair idea of what the answer would be. Ginny looked up at him desperately. "I think he'll go in there and try to rescue her all by himself. It's suicide. You've got to help me. He can't do this alone." When Ginny had first mentioned old Scar Head, Draco's stomach had tightened up with jealousy. He knew she had once had an enormous crush on Potter but he now realized that she loved him only as a friend now and he knew too that he loved this beautiful, wild tempered, auburn haired witch and he would do anything for her.

He gathered her in his arms again and began to cover her face in tiny kisses. "This is very nice, Draco but I don't see how it's going to help anyone". Draco grinned down at her. "It's making me feel better though". Ginny put her hands on either side of Draco's face and drew him into a deep kiss. When she released him he looked dazed and his breath was ragged. "Will you help me?" She said simply and Draco simply nodded. He couldn't have said no if he tried.

Flashback

_Ginny Weasley really hated the dungeons at Hogwarts. Maybe it was the fact that they were always dark, dank and drafty, but it probably had more to do with what every Hogwarts student associated with the dungeons; Potions, and therefore, Snape. Professor Severus Snape, loathed by all those not Slytherin. He had a reputation of being unnecessarily cruel to any student who wasn't a Slytherin. There, of course, was the exceptions; usually those who were so good that he couldn't find anything to complain about. Like her good friend Hermione Granger. She didn't understand why Snape wouldn't just let her get tutoring help from Hermione, but Snape had insisted that he find someone to help her. She was so angry at him at the moment, that it took all her strength not to hex him on contact._

So, here she was, making her way down to the dungeons for her first tutoring lesson. She didn't know who Snape was assigning her to, he only told her that it was one of his best students. She supposed it couldn't be too bad. Probably some Ravenclaw. But never, in a million years would she have expected to see the platinum blond sitting in the classroom waiting for her when she walked into the door.

_"Oh Merlin! Not you! Why did it have to be you?" Ginny almost snarled the words out. The blonde wizard had turned when he heard her approaching the door and now he grinned sardonically. "And what exactly is wrong with me, Weaslette? I am a Slytherin, a brilliant potions student and a damned good looking wizard I might add". Ginny snorted. 'He couldn't be serious, could he?' Instead she quipped, "Well I guess one out of three isn't bad. You're certainly all Slytherin" she said sarcastically._

The smirk that had begun to set upon Draco's features quickly disappeared. 'Who'd of guessed she would come back with such a remark so quickly and make his House sound so demeaning with a few simple words and with a razor sharp tone to match?' "At least I'm not a mudblood lover and a disgrace to purebloods everywhere". 'That will put her in her place', he thought smugly. But Ginny had an answer to that to, one that her father had used a long time ago when referring to his father although it was adjusted for Draco's comment. "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of pureblood, Malfoy. You can cut the act now. You don't want to teach me and I don't want you as a tutor either. Snape will listen to you, tell him things aren't working out and you want someone else to tutor me. That way we'll both be happy".

Draco stared at her for several moments and Ginny began to feel very uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze and her cheeks began to match the fiery red of her hair. At last he spoke. "I can't swap, believe me I already tried. But it's not a total loss. He did promise me a few extra grades for my trouble so you'd want to listen closely to everything I say, Weaslette". Ginny glared and threw her bag on the table and began to take out her parchments and supplies. "Let's get on with it then. The less time I have to spend with you the better".

For the better part of three months they had fought constantly. Sometimes Ginny would get a stinging reply in and sometimes Draco had the last word. The only thing that seemed to improve was Ginny's Potions abilities. And then, inexplicably something changed. Ginny stopped dreading the tutoring class and found herself actually looking forward to seeing the wizard that most of Gryffindor still delighted in calling 'the ferret' whenever the occasion arose. It was stupid of course. Like Draco would ever take any notice of her. He had made his feelings for her very plain. She was less than nothing to him. Never for a moment had she suspected that the Slytherin Stud had begun to feel the same way.

It had been an emotional day. Ginny had come off her broom during Quidditch practice and although it wasn't a bad fall, every inch of her ached. She'd received detention for making a disturbance in the library after lunch but Madame Pince wasn't interested in the fact that it had been Peeves and not Ginny who had torn the book and thrown it across the room and now here she was at her tutoring session and no doubt Malfoy (or her Draco as she had secretly begun calling him) would be his usual sarcastic self. She just didn't know how she would cope. Imagine her surprise when she walked in the room and he took one look at her and asked her what was wrong. She was mortified when she burst into tears. She could just imagine what he'd say to that. But instead he had kissed her and Ginny had wholeheartedly kissed him back. Nothing was the same after that.

End Flashback


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Spying and Dreams

Harry Potter was in for another long, sleepless night. Not only was he worried about Hermione, and trying to think of ways to rescue her, but he was now also worried about Ginny. He knew he should have lied when Ginny walked in on him crying like a baby over Hermione's letter. But, he didn't know what to do. He had been so happy, and relieved, and scared, and overwhelmed, all at the same time. He was so happy that she loved him. And so scared at the thought of what might happen to her. He had to write her back, right this instant.

_My Dearest Hermione,_

God, I love you. I'm so thick. This whole time, I've been looking for someone, and I didn't realize she was standing right in front of me. Ginny knows. She's found hers too Hermione. In Malfoy. He's the one that's been helping you, helping us. I don't completely trust him, but if he feels one iota of what I feel for you, he couldn't betray us. It's just a chance we're going to have to take. I'm so scared for you 'mione. I've just found you, and no one will stop me from getting to you. Not the Weasleys, not Dumbledore, and certainly not Voldemort. I cried after I read your letter. Sobbed would be a better word, actually. But Ginny helped. She's gone off, Hermione. She's gone to Draco. We're coming after you Hermione. I don't know how soon though. We have to come up with some kind of plan. I'll die before I let my rash actions hurt you, like it did Sirius. And I'm scared without you here. You're my voice of reason Hermione. You're my heart. And you're my soul. Nothing's going to happen to you, my love. Because it's not destined to. You, see, if you die, I would die with you. And I'm destined either kill Voldemort or be killed by him. That is the prophecy, Hermione. Neither can live, while the other survives. I have to kill him, and you're gonna help me. So keep up your strength, and keep up you're spirit. Whenever you're feeling down, take out this letter, and read the first seven words over and over again. Because they're the truth, and they're what's gonna bring you home to me. I'll keep in touch, and we'll be there soon, I promise.

I love you Hermione Granger.

Harry  
  
Harry rolled up the piece of parchment and sent it off with Hedwig. He hoped she could read it. There were tear stains on it, but he couldn't help it. He was both the happiest, and the most scared man in the world at this very instant.

Harry put his glasses on the nightstand, rubbed his eyes and lay on the bed. He didn't get under the covers and he hadn't bothered changing into his pajamas either. He was just too exhausted to get up again. He lay with his head resting on his hands on top of the pillow and smiled happily at the ceiling. He'd finally done it. He'd told Miss Hermione Granger exactly how he felt about her and when they rescued her, he was more than willing to prove to her that every written word was true. Then he lay there and tried to imagine what Hermione would think when she read that Malfoy was the wizard helping them. Oh Merlin!

He'd totally stuffed up. Every word in that letter, every sentence was a total give away. What if the letter was intercepted? Not only would he have put Hermione in danger which was a thought more terrible then he could bear but he'd also implicated Malfoy and Ginny in the process. They'd kill them if they found out. Malfoy would never suspect anything until it was far too late. He'd be busy working both sides and never realize that they were on to him. They'd never let on that Harry had given him away. Voldemort was not stupid. He would play this splendidly easy clue close to his chest. And when he finished with Malfoy, Ginny would be next and after her, his beloved Hermione. What had he done?

The heavy door opened and Voldemort himself walked into Hermione's prison cell and smiled a lipless smile at the clearly agitated girl. Something was wrong. He never came in here. Never even seemed to acknowledge that she was his prisoner and his bait for one Harry Potter but now things had taken quite an interesting turn.

"So Miss Granger", he began pleasantly enough and although she recoiled at the sound of his voice she could also easily understand how he had so effortlessly seduced Ginny Weasley into doing everything he wanted as the sixteen year old Tom Riddle. His voice was very, very persuasive and despite herself, she found her body slowly relaxing and his words curled around her like thick smoke.

"You've been here a while now. Seems strange that your 'friend' Potter hasn't attempted a rescue by now, don't you think? I mean, he cares so much about you. Surely he would have made some considerable effort to get in contact with you assuming he knew were you were, of course".

Hermione snapped back to attention as she took in his words and the voice sounded cruel and vile as usual.

"And he'd have to have help to find you here. Inside help. Help from a traitor who's hours are numbered I can assure you. Him and his little girlfriend. Rather unexpected I must say considering your history together. I'd never thought he'd turn against me and help Potter. A pity, really. I enjoy a good deception."

Hermione just stared. What in Merlin's name was he talking about? Harry's feelings? His emphasis on the word 'friend' and mention of a traitor amongst his death eaters? None of it made any sense. Voldemort smiled again and she gasped as he withdrew his hands from his robes. In one hand he held a piece of parchment, and in the other an owl that's neck had obviously been broken. It was the very same owl that had brought her the messages of hope, her only means of knowing that Harry was out there somewhere trying to help her. Now she knew exactly what the Dark Lord was talking about. He'd intercepted a letter. Harry had given away all their secrets. How could he have been so stupid?'

The Dark Lord dropped the parchment at Hermione's feet but she did not reach over to pick it up. A moment later the dead owl joined it on the floor.

"So you thought you could trick me? Thought you'd send little love letters to each other while you waited for your lover to come and find you. And mark my words, Miss Granger, he will find you. Of course, he won't find you alive".

And with that he retrieved his wand and said the forbidden curse and Hermione found herself surrounded by a green haze and then nothing at all.

"Nooooooooooo!" Harry screamed as he bolted upright and ran for the window.

"Hermione", he yelled and then looked around the room and noticed where he was.

On the other side of the room, Ron lay sleeping, Harry's screams not even making a dent in his deep slumber. Harry looked down at his desk and could have cried out again with relief. The letter was still there. He hadn't sent it at all. It had been some wickedly horrible dream. Grabbing his wand he waved it over the parchment and whispered a spell that Hermione had taught them just a few short months ago when they'd become tired of Parvati and Lavender always trying to find out what they doing. Instantly the words changed and became code and Harry sighed with relief. Hermione didn't need her wand to change the words; she just needed to say a certain word and the writing would return to normal. Once more he threw open the window and smiled as Malfoy's owl instantly appeared. It let Harry tie on the message and promptly flew away and Harry fell back onto his bed. Somewhere in that in between stage of wakefulness and sleep it occurred to Harry that Ron just might have seen the letter too and before he could worry what that might mean, he was fast asleep.

Albus Dumbledore was standing by one of the many windows in his office. He was watching a tattered and wild looking owl fly off into the sky. He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear someone enter his office until they got his attention by calling his name.

"Albus?"

"Ah, hello Remus. Beautiful evening, is it not?" He asked serenely.

"Yes, it certainly is."

"Hello Minerva, thank you for escorting Remus up. Could I offer you both a spot of tea?" asked the Headmaster.

"Certainly." Replied Minvera.

"So, what's on your mind Remus?"

"Well, it's about Harry. I received a rather disturbing owl from him. I believe he's going through a bout of depression. He says he wants to see me, said it had something to do with Hermione."

"The poor boy." Said Minerva.

"Yes, I am not surprised, Remus. He through quite a tantrum here in this very office, not three weeks ago. Broke every instrument in here."

"Really, Albus. How could you let him do it?" Asked Minerva.

"Well, what would you have me do, Minerva? Restrain him? Punish him? The boy had just lost the closest thing he had to a father, and he blamed himself. So I let him take out his anger and frustration. He didn't break anything I couldn't fix, other than his heart." Said the wizened old man.

"Forgive me, Headmaster, I didn't think." Minerva trailed off.

"About Hermione, sir, have you located her yet?" asked Remus.

"Yes, Remus, we've found her. Severus has just left here. It seems that our Miss Granger was kidnapped on her way home from Kings Cross at the end of term. Don't start Remus, Severus was just informed himself. It seems his loyalty is being questioned. And no, before you ask, we cannot take the Order in and save her. If we did, we would virtually be signing Severus' death warrant."

"What do you mean we can't save her, we have to save her." Said Remus at almost a yell.

"Oh, Albus, we must. Surely you can think of a way to do this in a way that wouldn't point to Severus." Said Minerva pleadingly.

"Not to worry you two. I've just intercepted an owl meant for the very same Miss Granger in question. It seems that she's been in contact with Harry, and that he has plans to save her. So, all we have to do it watch and make sure no one gets hurt, and we will, pardon the pun, kill two birds with one stone." Said the Headmaster, eyes twinkling.

"But how did they get in contact?" asked Remus.

"Well, I suppose we have someone to thank for that, a rather unlikely ally has come forward. I believe you both know him. One Mister Draco Malfoy." Said Dumbledore unable to hide his smile at the dumbfounded look on the faces of the two people sitting in front of him.

Hermione Granger was sleeping unsoundly when she heard the flutter of wings on her so called window. She hastily leapt up and untied the letter from the owl. She let the owl have a bit of her saved up water before it flew out of the window and off into the night.

She tip-toed over to the door and listened intently to the outside hallway. No footsteps. She tried to think how long ago they had made their last check on her. Not more than thirty minutes, she knew. She thought it might be safe. She hated to think what would happen if they knew she'd been receiving letters.

She opened up the letter with trembling hands. Although that seemed to be one of the mainstays in her life. Trembling hands. Like her hunger pains, and constant headache. She carefully opened up the letter, careful not to make any sounds.

Her heart almost burst out of her chest after the first seven words. She didn't think she could feel anything else at that moment, but then a surge of jealousy at the mention of Ginny. She knew Ginny had liked him once. And then relief when she learned that Ginny was no longer interested in her man. And a twinge of fear and confusion, and wonder when she saw that it was Malfoy that snatched her heart. She wasn't really sure how she felt about Malfoy helping them. Disbelief at first, and then amazement. But Hermione Granger usually gave people the benefit of the doubt, even if it was Draco Malfoy. She hoped that Ginny was smart enough to not fall for a con. She was gonna go with it. She was crying by the time she read that Harry had cried for her. And she felt fear for Ginny. But she knew in her heart of hearts that she would do the same for her. And who else to turn to but the man they love. She felt pure determination at Harry's show of faith in her. She knew that it was going to come down to a final match between Harry and Voldemort, although she didn't know that it was prophesized. But she would help Harry defeat Lord Voldemort, if it was the last thing she'd do.

She tucked the letter away securely, and fell asleep soundly for the first time since here stay here, with that thought firmly settled in her mind.

When Harry woke up the next morning after what had seemed like the best sleep he had had in a very long time he noted with some surprise that the bed on the opposite side of the room was empty. It was rare that Ron actually woke up before Harry did. Once again he wondered if perhaps Ron had seen his letter to Hermione last night after all. And if he had then what kind of a reception would he get when he went downstairs?

Quickly dressing and putting on his glasses and running a comb through his unruly hair that as usual looked like it hadn't seen a decent brushing for a very long time, he made his way into the kitchen. He'd barely taken two steps into the room when he knew something was wrong. Mrs. Weasley was making a great show of magicking saucepans and crockery into the sink and they crashed together so loudly it was a wonder they weren't all broken. Her back was very straight and he could definitely tell she was angry about something. The words of her spells were punctuated with a lot of wand movements that threatened to punch holes in the air before her.

His gaze shifted to Mr. Weasley who had a very serious expression on his face indeed and for a moment he almost shouted out to ask if they'd heard something about Hermione but then Arthur glanced quickly to his left at his daughter and Harry knew Hermione was definitely not on his mind at that particular moment. He was greatly relieved to see Ginny there. Thank Merlin she made it back safely. He could just imagine by the look on her face that she had been soundly told off by both her parents for running off like that. Or perhaps, maybe they had figured things out about Malfoy and they were too disgusted to know what to think. Ginny looked up then and saw him and gave him what could only be described as a conspiring smirk. Harry's heart immediately felt lighter. Obviously Ginny and Malfoy had come up with a plan and he couldn't wait to get her alone so they could discuss it in great detail.

Harry turned and made to walk around to where Ginny was sitting.

"Ah, there you are Harry. Sit down, dear, time for breakfast." Molly said it pleasantly enough but he could tell she was making a great effort to control herself.

"Actually, I'm not very hungry", Harry began but he was interrupted by Ron who had stopped eating long enough to regard his friend.

"Eat Harry. We've got a lot to do today, don't we, Ginny?"

Ginny looked startled and stared back at her brother in surprise.

"Ginny is not going anywhere today, Ronald. She's staying here to help me", Molly began in a voice that would brook no argument.

"But mum," Ginny began.

Her mother was having none of that and she spun around so fast that dishes and pots and pans went crashing to the ground. One simple look had Ginny closing her mouth and glaring silently in protest at her mother before looking desperately at Harry.

"We'll talk later." he mouthed at her as soon as everyone went back to their breakfasts and Mrs. Weasley began cleaning up the mess she had made.

She nodded and Harry sat down to eat. He didn't know what to make of Ron's comment either but he supposed he would find out soon enough. He just hoped his suspicions from earlier weren't about to be confirmed.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Sneaking Slytherins

Draco Malfoy made a great show of looking down with distaste at the little house elf that had just helped him apparate to Voldemort's latest secret lair. He wrinkled his nose as if the poor creature smelled bad and he was very displeased with him. Shaking his fist at him before waving him away Draco's eyes briefly met with the house elf's in a silent gesture of understanding. Both of them knew that it had all been for show in case anyone was watching but as the little house elf disappeared with a rather loud pop Draco realized he was alone in the semi darkness. He shut out his mind that seemed intent on wandering to thoughts of simply grabbing Granger and making a run for it and he took a deep breath and banished them. He was well aware of the Dark Lord's Legimency skills and had taken special pains to learn Occlumency with Professor Snape. He didn't know if he was very good at it. Certainly he was not in the professor's league but he hoped it was enough for what he was about to do. He wanted to be prepared for anything.

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed as his thoughts turned instead to Ginny Weasley. This wouldn't do him any good either. The last thing he wanted Voldemort to know was that he was in love with the Weasley witch. He could just imagine what a wizard like Voldemort would do to her if he ever found out what Draco had done and what he was about to do. And he didn't even dare think about what would happen to himself. Merlin this plan had to work. It was their only chance, their only hope. He doubted Granger and Potty would get a second one. He hoped that Potty realized exactly how much he did care for the auburn haired beauty that he called friend for Draco doubted he would be helping Granger now if it weren't for this all encompassing heady romance he had found himself in. He still wasn't sure exactly how it had happened. One minute he had been enjoying tormenting her immensely and the next his lips had touched hers and he had found that he had been hungry for the taste ever since. And what was more enamoring was the knowledge that she felt exactly the same as he did.

_Flashback_

"_I don't want to go, Draco."_

"_I know you don't Red, neither do I. But we have to go home. What are we going to do, stay in the castle all through summer break. I'm sure our families will notice if we don't get off the train at King's Cross."_

"_I don't care. I can't bear to be away from you for months." Said Ginny, eyes brimming with unshed tears._

"_Merlin, honey. The last thing in the world that I want is to go back to the Ice Palace and play naughty boy for the parentals, but I have no choice. If I don't show up my father will know that I've betrayed him, and then all of the Death Eaters, not to mention Voldemort himself will be looking for me. And they will find us. Nobody can hide from him forever, look what happened to Harry's parents. And they were under the fidelius."_

"_You don't know the whole story there. Peter Pettigrew ratted them out."_

"_I know Red. I've known since third year, when Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. My father told me that Sirius Black was not loyal to the 'Dark Lord' and that Wormtail framed him. He told me so that I wouldn't 'look up to' or trust Black. He's my mother's cousin, you know."_

"_Was your mothers' cousin. He's, he's dead."_

"_I didn't know. I'm so sorry, honey. Did you know him well?"_

"_Yes, we stayed with him for a while before the start of term, and over Christmas. He was Harry's godfather. The closest thing to a father that Harry's known."_

"_You know that I still don't like Potter, but I wouldn't wish that on him. He mostly just annoys me now. How did Black die?"_

"_Sirius died fighting his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange at the Ministry of Magic. It was just last week. The last day of O.W.L.'s."_

"_You were there, weren't you, Red? That's where you went after Harry and Hermione left with Umbridge. Thanks for the protection for the bat-bogey hex, by the way. That looked like it would have hurt. I just wish I could have gone with you, helped."_

"_Oh, but you couldn't have, Lucius was there along with six or seven other Death Eaters. Your cover would have been blown. They tried to kill us. I don't know exactly what happened, I got knocked out. But Neville told me that Sirius was dueling with Bellatrix and she stunned him and he fell through the veil in the Department of Mysteries. Harry was devastated. Still is. He won't talk to any of us. He just sits in the Hospital Wing watching over Hermione. I can't believe that cow, Umbrigde."_

"_I know what you mean. I can't believe I had to help her. But you know she would have gotten word back to father if I didn't. And it had to be believable. I know I've been watched here. I can feel it sometimes."_

"_I'm so glad you're here with me now. I don't know if I could go through this without you. I could have died, we all could have. And Sirius did die. It's just so unbelievable."_

"_I know, but I promise to do everything in my power to make sure you don't get hurt again."_

_She curled up into his arms, and he held her while she cried herself to sleep._

_End Flashback. _

He swore loudly in his mind and hurried forward. Such thoughts were to be banned instantly if he wanted to complete his mission here. Thank Merlin he did not have to come in contact with Voldemort himself. Instead he was on his way to where MacNair sat guarding the mudblood in the dark of the makeshift prison cells. It would take a little time to get the wizard to trust him, Draco was well aware of that. Still, he had to try. Once he had the guard's confidence then it was a matter of finding out exactly what Voldemort's plans for his prisoner were and while he was at it, Draco would find out where they were keeping Granger's wand too. Merlin knows she would need every bit of help she could get to escape from here. Very few people had left this place alive and of the ones that somehow miraculously managed it, not one of them had emerged as the same person that entered Voldemort's lair. They had become something else entirely.

A noise sounded ahead of him and he pressed himself into a small alcove of the wall. He didn't know why he hid, he was well known here after all. Lucius often brought his son here to learn the tricks of the trade and Draco had put on some of the best acting performances of his young life pretending that he was as eager to serve the Dark Lord as his father was. And for some time there, maybe it had been true but that had changed now and he did not want to be a death eater, he did not want the Dark Mark emblazoned on his arm and he definitely did not want to serve the Dark Lord. He must remember to thank Ginny for opening his eyes to the possibility of an alternative life for him. He had thought there was no escaping his fate but now he knew better. Now he wanted better and if he was very careful and played his card right, then surely he would achieve it.

He strutted along the darkened corridor as if he were meant to be there, as if he owned the entire place and all those who were in it. It was a good thing there were no mirrors here. He might not have liked the reflection. He looked more like his father at that moment then at any other point of his life. A duplicate if you will of the man he had come to quietly and yet carefully despise. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about his mother. He knew she would do anything for his father, regardless of the consequences and he did believe that she loved him too but she was still a faithful servant of the Dark Lord and he knew of no potion or spell that could truly turn her away from her beliefs. He knew his father was far too deeply held within the Dark Lord's empire to escape and Draco sincerely doubted he wanted to know nor did he care to. The only person he really cared about was Ginny. And if he had to help her friends to prove his love for her, so be it.

_Flashback_

"_We don't have much time, Gin. The train will be leaving in under an hour."_

"_I know. I just wanted to see you once more before we left. Promise me you'll be careful at home. I know Lucius is in Azkaban, but you said yourself you didn't think he'd be there long."_

"_I know he won't be there long. Voldemort will get them out soon. And I will be careful, but you have to be too. No running off to save the world. We'll owl each other, and if you need anything, just let me know."_

"_Okay. I'm going to miss you so much Draco."_

"_Me too, Red, me too."_

_He held her tightly, then leaned back to give her a kiss. What he had planned to be a sweet gentle kiss goodbye quickly turned into something much more passionate than either of them had experienced before. When they finally released each other they were both out of breath and slightly dazed._

_Ginny started to turn and walk away. _

"_Ginny."_

"_Yes?"_

"_I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

_She smiled and walked away. And he hadn't seen her since she showed up at his house almost a month later. _

_End Flashback_

His confident strides carried him passed many rooms but he didn't look into any of them. Perhaps there were other prisoners behind those heavy wooden doors but he was not about to go looking. He knew where Hermione was because his father had made mention of it over dinner the night after she was captured. He had been in a particularly good mood when he came home and frankly it had been a little unnerving. Draco actually preferred when his father ignored everyone, ate his dinner and promptly disappeared into his private rooms or headed back out to do the Dark Lord's bidding. Having his father sit there and laugh and joke and drink several glasses of champagne and toast to their success with his mother had been excruciating and Draco had quickly eaten and left for his own rooms. He glanced out a window and noted that he was close to where he wanted to go. It was a pity that Voldemort had chosen MacNair to guard the door. He was not easily led by compliments on his prowess in regard to serving the Dark Lord and he did not think about food the way Crabbe and Goyle did so there was no way he could bribe him away with the promise of a delicious meal. In all, if he wanted to keep the Executioner as he was known in their circle onside, he had to be as ruthless and as heartless as MacNair was. In short, not only did he look like his father but now he had to act like him too.

Two more turns and he would be right there. He could just imagine Granger laying there, her dirty face covered in tears, her body thin from lack of a decent meal and her clothes of an unkempt appearance because he doubted anyone would let her clean herself up either. In fact he could quite easily imagine the conditions she now found herself in. But he also knew something the others did not. He might not like her and she was just a common mud blood after all but never, not once in all the years he had known her, had he seen anyone break the Gryffindor's spirit. His name calling, his cruel taunts and snide remarks had washed over her as easily as if he had not spoken a word. In fact, she was rather good at throwing them right back in his face. She was one of the few people that were not impressed by his wealth, his purity of blood or his name. Come to think of it, Ginny wasn't either. But with her, he had the kind of riches money just couldn't buy and he knew it. The last corner loomed before him and he set his mind on the task before him. He did not hear the soft squeak of an opening door or the swish of robes behind him. The last things he remembered were gloved hands covering his mouth and the feel of a tall man dragging him backwards into a darkened room.

A brief yet intense struggle ensued and Draco tried desperately to reach for his wand only to come up empty. Abruptly he was shoved hard against the wall and the back of his head connected with it in a resounding crack. "Lumos", a familiar voice before him said and he peered at the soft glow and wondered who had cast the spell for the voice sounded so familiar. Draco heard the sounds of the silencing spell being spoken and the door behind him being locked. "Care to tell me what you're doing down here, Mister Malfoy?" The wizard stepped closer and now Draco could see who it was even though his head ached and his vision was still rather blurred. It was Snape! "I believe I asked you a question, Malfoy. Please trouble yourself to answer it", he continued callously. Now Draco could see that the professor was holding his wand too although only the professor's was trained on him at the moment. He swallowed nervously. 'What could he tell him? That he was about to find a way to rescue the prisoner, to steal Granger away? Wasn't Snape one of them? Didn't he spy on Dumbledore for Voldemort? What in Merlin's name did he do now?'

Snape stared at him silently for several moments and Draco had the strange feeling that the wizard was looking into his very soul and he found that a distinctly uncomfortable feeling. He tried to summon up the skills he had learnt from this very wizard but for some reason nothing would come to him. He knew as surely as he stood there that Professor Snape had just read his mind. He now knew everything from his plan to help Potter, his changing of sides to his love of Ginny Weasley. It was there in his mind as easily as if he spoke the words himself. "Well, well, Mister Malfoy, this is an interesting turn of events, very interesting indeed. Perhaps it is a good thing I found you. If I could read your mind that easily just think what the Dark Lord could do to you? Have you remembered nothing that I taught you? Have you even been practicing or has your mind been filled with thoughts of that girl instead? Love? It's more trouble than it's worth but I'm sure you and your 'new friend' Potter will find that out soon enough, if you live that long". Suddenly Draco seemed to find his voice and it was harder to imagine who was the more surprised by this.

"It's part of the plan to fool Potter. I heard that he's been learning to read minds too. I couldn't let him wander into mine that easily. I had to think this way in case he tried anything on me to try and find out our plans. I have every intention of following the Dark Lord's plan to the letter", he finished as he stared Snape in the eye and tried to stand as tall as he could which was rather hard since the back of his head throbbed in time with the racing beat of his heart. Snape just looked at him. "What? I am a loyal servant and I don't have to prove it to you", Draco said defiantly. Suddenly he noticed the professor's shoulders were making tiny up and down movements that quickly gained in pace and his shoulders began to shake violently until finally the professor threw back his head and roared with laughter and barely managed to stand as he staggered backwards and held onto the wall. Draco was thoroughly confused. 'What in Merlin's name was going on here? What the hell was wrong with the professor?' At last Snape gained control of himself and stepped back over to where Draco still stood and handed him his wand. "I think it's about time we had a little talk, Mister Malfoy".


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Confessions

"Well, let's just see if this works." Said Snape. "Grab a hold."

Draco had no other choice, so he held up his index finger and touched the apple core. Professor Snape said the spell to activate the portkey and he felt the familiar pulling sensation at his navel. When he opened his eyes again he found they were standing in the Shrieking Shack. Not that he'd ever been inside the Shack, but this is what he'd imaging it would look like.

"Come on." Snape bellowed.

Draco followed him out of the Shack and down through a tunnel that lead to the Whomping Willow. He heard the branches swinging about violently above him. He saw Professor Snape stick his hand up a hole in the ground and the branches stopped. They climbed out of the hole and made their way to the castle.

Once they were settled in the Potion Masters office they began to talk.

"Nice job on the portkey, by the way. If it was illegal to create one, and if school was in session, I'd probably award you points." Said Snape.

"Thank you sir, but what are we doing here? I really should be getting home." Said Draco stealing glances to the door.

"You're not going anywhere. And you should be grateful that I was the one who found you today. I always knew that you didn't have what it takes to be a Death Eater. Don't give me that look, it's a good thing, Draco. I can help protect you. Be here for you. You must know that."

"Okay Professor. Are you trying to tell me that you're not really loyal to Voldemort?"

"You shouldn't call him by name Mister Malfoy. It's not prudent."

"I'm not going to apologize sir, I'm not afraid to call him by name."

"Trust me, Mister Malfoy, you'd never be able to call him by his name while in his presence. But I want to make sure that you never again have to be in his presence, that is unless you're fighting him. But you've a long way to go before you can approach the Dark Lord and have a chance to escape with your life. Once the school term starts, you'll have private lessons with me. Then you can relay them to the Gryffindors you're hell bent on trying to help. I'd die before I gave them private lessons."

"Okay sir. Thanks for all your help. You'll let me know when we're to start?"

"Yes. If your father asks any questions, tell him I sent for you."

"Thank you."

Draco turned and walked out of the classroom. When he reached the front entryway he heard someone say his name.

"Malfoy!"

"Yes Professor Snape?"

"Come, let's see your friend for a moment."

Once outside the grounds he apparated them to the compound and snuck him in to see Hermione. He then apparated him home.

Draco pulled out the letter that Hermione had sent with him to give to Potter and added a post script. Then he watched the owl fly into the sky, and lay down on his bed. He had a lot to think about.

Harry and the Weasleys were having a silently tense breakfast. No one really wanting to say anything to set of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Harry, Ron and Ginny kept shooting furtive glances at each other. Harry and Ginny still couldn't quite figure out what Ron knew, if anything. 

Once they all finished eating, Mrs. Weasley had Ginny start clearing off the table and doing the dishes. This must have been some kind of punishment for the girl, because Ginny shot her mother a look of complete incredulity when she was told to do this.

"But mum, I can't use magic yet." Ginny exclaimed.

"I am quite aware of that, dear, now you'd better get started." Molly told her daughter, completely unfazed.

"I'll help Ginny," said Harry, "I'm used to doing the dishes by hand."

Ginny looked relieved. Molly was getting ready to object when she saw the look in Harry's eyes.

"Alright, but don't either of you get used to this." Said Molly.

Molly asked Ron to do a few things outside. Despite being tiffed with her mother, Ginny shot her an appreciative look.

Washing the dishes went faster than Harry was expecting. He supposed that was what happened when you had someone there to help and talk to.

"What was Ron talking about this morning?" Harry asked Ginny.

"I don't know, I thought you might know what he was going on about." Said Ginny.

"Oh, I have an idea, but if it's right, it won't be good, for either of us." Said Harry.

"Well, what is it?" asked Ginny.

"I think he may have read my letter to Hermione." Harry started, "And in the letter I told her about you and Draco."

Ginny gasped, but was unable to respond because Ron chose that moment to walk back into the kitchen. He spied Harry handing Ginny the last of the dishes.

"Great you're done!" said Ron.

"What did Dumbledore have to say?" asked Tonks when Remus got back to Grimmauld Place.

"You're not going to believe it." Said Remus.

"You'd be surprised what I'll believe." She countered.

"Alright, Hermione's been kidnapped and held captive since the last day of school, her parents are dead, Harry knows, and is planning to rescue her, Severus knows where she is, but can't rescue her because it'll blow his cover, Harry's getting help from none other than Draco Malfoy, who also happens to be seeing Ginny Weasley, oh, and Harry and Hermione finally admitted that they have feelings for each other, and Albus' master plan is to sit back and watch Harry and his friends try to rescue Hermione and probably get themselves killed in the process, but obviously we'll be watching them and trying to prevent any harm, but we're to leave them be and let them do this, and Albus knows all of this, and came up with this plan because he is intercepting owl post. Can you believe it?"

Remus looked very weary after he got done with his tirade, and he visibly sunk lower into his chair and hung his head.

"I trust Dumbledore. You know he doesn't do anything without a reason."

"But how am I supposed to do this? Just sit back and allow Harry to risk his life with Death Eaters and Voldemort. I don't think I can do it. I mean I trust Albus too, probably more than anyone except Sir…more than anyone. But I'm the last one left here to protect him. I could never live with myself if something happened to him now. How could I look James and Lily, and Sirius in the eye when I see them again. How could I do that knowing that I could have done more to protect their son?"

Remus didn't realize that he had started crying until Tonks reached over to wipe them away.

"Shhh. Everything's going to be okay. It'll all work out." She told him soothingly.

Harry and Ron decided to go up to Ron's room and talk about Quidditch strategies for the next season. They started walking up the stairs and Harry shot Ginny one last look that clearly said, "I'm about to find out what Ron knows, and wish me luck, and we'll talk later."

Harry followed Ron into the bedroom and sat down on his bed. Ron was staring out the window. A few minutes went by.

"So," Harry began, "any ideas about replacement players?"

More silence.

"Ron?" Harry said. "Something on your mind?"

More silence.

"Ron." Harry said, more forcefully this time.

Still more silence.

"Look," Harry began, "I love her, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Love her? Love her? And to which 'Her' would you be referring? Hermoine? Your best female friend since day one at Hogwarts. Or would you mean my kid sister who has worshipped you all her life? Or is it still Cho? Although I can't see why you'd still fancy her. Why now Harry? Why do those that care for you have to suffer? Nobody can find 'Moine. And Ginny flew out of here crying like a dragon was breathing down her neck. And I know you know things you are not telling me…" Ron picked up a miniature model of Victor Krum on his broom and throw it across the floor. The shattering of the figurine was the only sound in the room other than Ron's swallow, rapid breathing. 

Ron's sudden emotional explosion was commonplace to Harry. However, Harry had to think hard to remember the last time Ron had been this angry with him. Harry was still musing over this realization when Ron nudged him hard…

"We are supposed to be best friends. We are supposed to have no secrets between us. I just accused you of loving two ladies and you say nothing? Harry what's happening?" It was asked sincerely, but when Harry looked into Ron's eyes, he saw coldness, and a weariness that had never been there before. Harry knew what ever he said now could be the most important words he had or will ever say to Ron. These words, if miss-spoken or misunderstood, may cost him Ron's friendship not to mention his trust.

Harry's hesitation was just too much for Ron. He sprang to his feet and began to stomp around the tiny cluttered room. Harry finally stood and stopped him with a gentle hand to the shoulder. "Watch it there, Ron. You almost squashed Victor's head!"

For a split second the mischief loving Weasley grinned at the thought.

Encouraged by the hint of a smile, Harry continued, "Can't have you getting cut on one of those shards."

That was enough to remind Ron that he was angry, "What do you care?"

"That's just it Ron. I do care, maybe too much."

The distrust flashed back onto Ron's face, "Is that your answer? Again? Harry doesn't want his friends to get hurt by the big bad V..V..Vol.." Ron let out a resigned breath, "You-Know-Who? That's getting tired, Harry, very tired."

Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair, which Ron saw as a sure sign that Harry was desperately trying to figure things out and was getting increasingly frustrated….he knew Harry like Hermione knows "Hogwarts, A History". As this thought ran through Ron's mind, a dejected Harry flopped down to sit at the edge of one of the twin beds. His elbows on his knees and his head supported by his hands, Harry began to speak but kept his eyes downcast. He just couldn't stand to see the anger on Ron's face any longer.

"Hermione IS in danger...Ginny is running head first into what could be dangerous VERY dangerous. I just can NOT risk you too! Not after what happened at the Ministry, don't you understand?"

Ron shoved Harry off balance and then sat down beside him. "No Harry, YOU don't get it. Hermione, Ginny, Me and everyone else who stands by you in a fight or in friendship does so because we want to - maybe we all have different reasons, but when it comes right down to it, we get to choose who we befriend and who we help…and you my friend are making it harder than it has to be!"

There was a long protracted silence as the teenagers tried to be adult about their individual emotions. Ron stood up, moved to the other twin bed and sat down facing Harry.

"You still haven't answered any of my questions."

Ron forced Harry to make eye contact, "So what's it going to be? Harry flies solo, and I mean completely alone from this moment on or do you let me in? Let me help?"

Harry took in a deep breath and having made his decision said

"You are not going to like what I have to say."

Ron made a come on gesture with his hand circling toward his chest. Another deep breath and Harry said, "Hormones."

Harry drew in a deep breath and let it out very slowly as Ron flopped down on the bed opposite him and fixed him with a glare that told Harry that nothing less than the truth would be acceptable now. Harry looked at the floor and began to speak.

"Ron, remember that day when you sent me that message that your mum and dad were coming to get me?" Ron nodded and motioned for Harry to continue. "Well at first I didn't know what was going on. I got a letter from Dumbledore too and he told me nothing more then there had been an attack on someone".

Ron frowned and moved his long legs so that his feet could touch the floor.

"I knew something was wrong but mum made out that it was a precaution, just being careful. She didn't say anything about an attack. Who was attacked?"

Harry swallowed so hard that it hurt.

"Right after that three more owls arrived on my window sill. One was Pig and it was a letter from you from before all this happened, obviously. One of the other owls, I'd never seen before but the other one was vaguely familiar only I couldn't recall where I'd seen it before for quite some time. I opened the letter from the unfamiliar looking owl first. It was a letter from Hermione".

Ron's hands moved and he clamped them tightly on the edge of the bed. "I haven't heard from Hermione in a while. Is she still on holiday? When is she coming back? How come she wrote to you anyway?"

Harry watched as his friend's knuckles grew whiter and shifted uneasily on his own bed. "The third owl had to do with Hermione too. It was a warning, a threat." There was no easy way to say this so he just blurted it out in a rush and the words seemed so close together that it was hard to tell where one word stopped and the next one began.

"Wait Harry, stop. You're not making any sense. Say it again".

"Ron", Harry said and breathed out slowly. "The other letter was from Voldemort. They've kidnapped Hermione and have her hidden somewhere. The other owl that delivered Hermione's letter told me they'd taken her but she didn't know where. She doesn't even know what's happened to her parents, Ron. How can I tell her that no one has a clue where they are or if they're even still alive?"

Harry blinked hard and stared out the window and curled his hands into fists on his lap and Ron stared forlornly at the floor. He might be slow on the uptake. He might miss obvious things especially when it came to the fairer sex but he knew his friend. He knew Harry and what's more he finally knew just how much his friend loved Hermione and for some reason, instinct told him that the girl he had been crazy about since fourth year (even if he hadn't realized it himself) obviously felt the same way about Harry too. Now what did he do? He was terrified for Hermione of course and he wanted to do something about rescuing her 'right now' but he had no idea what. There was still more for Harry to tell him yet, still things that Harry knew that Ron didn't.

He slowly sat back until he was leaning against the wall. "So what did Hermione say in her letter?"

Harry glanced at the drawer where he had hidden her letters and then looked back down at the floor.

"She just said she didn't know where she was but she was safe for the time being. She said the owl was bringing her food and drink and a quill and scraps of parchment so she could write to me. She didn't know who the owl belonged too but she had no choice but to trust it. If it wasn't for the owner of that owl, she would probably be dead by now. Of course, the other letter said if I told anyone they'd kill her so obviously Voldemort has plans for her involving me".

Ron bit down on the insides of his cheeks. Well of course they were using Hermione to get to Harry. That's the way they operated. He knew it wasn't Harry's fault and that his friend would gladly change places with her in a heartbeat but still it was hard not to be angry with him and project all his fear and worry onto Harry right now.

Instead he said, "I wonder whose owl it is since you said you'd seen it before. And who else knows what's been going on here? I get that you wouldn't tell mum and dad or Dumbledore but I'm your best friend, Harry. Why couldn't you tell me? And what does this have to do with Ginny anyway?'

Harry looked even more panicked then and Ron decided he didn't like that look very much at all.

"What else do you know Harry and what does it have to do with my sister?"

Harry paled as the tell tale temper blush began to swirl across Ron's face. "Ginny found out by accident. I didn't tell her. She saw the letter and knew I was worried. She decided to help me and I couldn't stop her. She said she could get help so she went to get Malfoy".

Harry stopped talking as Ron jumped off the bed as if it had caught fire beneath him and used his considerable height to advantage as he stared down at Harry.

"Malfoy! Draco Malfoy! What the hell has he got to do with anything and since when would that stupid little ferret stick out his neck to help any one of us especially Hermione since she's not pure blooded. He hates her and he hates us and believe me the feeling is mutual".

"It was Malfoy that sent the food and parchment to Hermione, Ron. He is helping us. I don't entirely trust him but for the moment he's all we've got".

Ron's fist connected with the wall and Harry opened his mouth but nothing came out and it wouldn't have mattered if he did for Ron had launched into a tirade that was getting louder and louder with each passing moment.

"Tell me why he'd help us Harry. Just answer me that".

"Because of me", a voice said quietly and even Ron grew silent when he realized that Ginny was standing there looking determinedly back at them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Hormones and Logic

The awkwardness was suffocating, but neither sibling could or would dare to break the eye contact. Sensing the inevitable Weasley War, Harry stood between the two, forcing them to look at him.

"Ron it's like I said – hormones. When I got Hermione's post, I suddenly realized that I could not only lose one of my best friends, but some one I care about beyond friendship. I can't loose her, Ron. Not her too." 

Ron, with a look of utter confusion just stared. "Ginny found me, I was reading another post from Hermione, in this letter she confessed that her feelings for me run beyond friendship as well. She…she says she loves me."

Ron looked at Harry like he didn't quite grasp what he was saying.

Harry continues, "Right. Ron, it breaks my heart to know that loving me could get her killed!"

Ginny joined in, "I found Harry crying Ron. I saw the letters. Harry had to tell me or I think he knew I would go to mum and dad. Until then, none but Harry knew for sure Hermione was kidnapped."

Ron, awakened from his revelry and remembering he was still angry retorted, "Fine, I get why you told my baby sister, but what does she have to do with Malfoy helping Hermione? And could someone explain to me why I saw her run out of here crying with you calling and chasing after her."

"I'm trying to tell you, Ron! I told you wouldn't like it. It's long and complicated..."

Ron cut him off mid sentence "...Too complicated for my pea brain, I guess!"

Ginny jumped into the fray, "No you git, too LONG for your quick-fused temper now sit down and let Harry finish!" and with a mighty shove Ron found himself on the bed, looking up into the steely eyes of his baby sister….but with this new surge of assertiveness, she didn't seem so young anymore.

Ron had to give a smirk to Harry. Harry saw the look of awareness and appreciation on Ron's eyes. Harry could only raise an eyebrow and shrug a shoulder to which Ron questioned, "Hormones?" Harry gave a snort and a nod.

"When I described the owls, Ginny immediately recognized the eagle owl as possibly being Draco's." Harry glanced side ways at Ginny who was almost in a prayerful stance, then he lied to his best friend, "She was so incensed she shot off to Merlin knows where. I chased after her until I couldn't run anymore. She came back when she had calmed down. I guess seeing me in pain was too much for her. And you know she has a great affection for Hermione too. They are practically sisters!" Ron nodded as Ginny went to face the window.

She softly said, "Harry don't..." and then much louder and with more energy than anyone would have believed she shouted. "OH MY! Ron, Harry, 'Majestic', er, I mean, Draco's bird is back!"

The owl screeched in what only could be described as in an adoring way and nestled against Ginny's arm and the witch absentmindedly stroked the downy feathers of its chest and the bird made strange crooning noises as if it were extremely happy.

"Malfoy's bird seems to have taken a shine to you, Ginny", Ron said bemusedly and did not notice the hasty way she retreated from the window and went to stand beside Harry.

The huge bird seemed rather annoyed by the sudden movement as if it were angry that Ginny had stopped paying attention to it and Harry smirked to himself that the owl seemed to have picked up the same traits as its master. It screeched loudly again and hopped over to Harry and stuck out its leg so Harry could take the message before turning around and glaring at Ginny and pointing its beak in the air and turning its back on her and flying outside to sit in the trees where it strutted haughtily from one branch to another.

They paid no attention to the bird however for they were anxious to see what was on the parchment and they hoped that it was news that Hermione was in good stead despite her miserable predicament. Harry's eyes took in the writing and smiled because once more it was in their special secret code but then he looked up to see Ginny and Ron staring at him intensely and suddenly he wished he were alone so that only he could read her message. If she told him again that she loved him then as far as Harry was concerned, it was an intensely private moment and he did not wish to share it with anyone. Not even his best friend and the witch who was bending over backwards just to help him. In his hesitation the Weasleys perhaps sensed his need for privacy and stepped back a little but the expressions on their faces told Harry they had no intention of going far and the sooner he read it and told them what was going on the better. Not that Ginny would have been able to read it anyway just yet but that was hardly the point.

Harry smiled then as the words, "My Darling Harry", began to appear as soon as he whispered the counter spell and his heart seemed lighter then it had in quite some time. He sat down on his bed and continued to read and all the while Ron and Ginny stood and stared at his face and watched the myriad of expressions that raced across it. Joy, sadness, fear, anger, they were all there for the siblings to see and then suddenly Harry looked stricken and turned shocked eyes towards his friends and wordlessly handed the parchment over to Ron and stared out the window as his friend began to read while Ginny, being considerably shorter then her brother had to turn and stand on Ron's bed just so that she could read over his shoulder and she too, gasped at the words before her and then they both turned and looked outside the window and stared at the still huffy owl.

"We've got to get her out of there." said Harry.

"I know, Harry. It will all happen soon. We just have to wait two more days. Then the plan will come into motion. We have to wait. You can't do this on your own, Harry." said Ginny.

"Whoa, what plan?" said Ron.

"The plan we worked out with Draco." said Ginny.

"Malfoy! I still don't understand why you guys are trusting him all of a sudden." said Ron.

"I know you don't understand, but I trust him. And that's all that matters." said Harry, rather forcefully.

"Alright, mate. I was just saying, is all. But if you trust him, I'll go along with it. I'll always be there for you. You're my best mate, after all. And I agree, if there is a plan, then we have to stick to it." said Ron.

"Glad to see we're all on the same page." Said Ginny.

"So, what exactly does this plan entail?" asked Ron.

Ginny looks away knowing her answer will not please her hot-headed brother, "Well Ron, not much on our part. Draco has been working on a portkey charm."

Harry joins in, "But like all of us, he hasn't had time or instruction to perfect the skill…"

Ginny continues, "He made a small portkey out of an apple core."

Harry adds, "But it won't be activated for two more days. The plan was to sneak it into Hermione."

Ginny finishes, "Letting her keep it as just another piece of trash in her cell. And then we wait."

Harry continued, "The portkey was to send Hermione to the Shrieking Shack, where we would be waiting with wands out to fight off anyone who may have grabbed on to the core with her."

There was a long pause in which Ginny felt she had to defend her boyfriend. "Draco made the portkey extremely small so that it would be harder for more than one person to touch, but we wanted to be ready, just in case."

Ron thinks long and hard, "Not a terrible plan…wait you said 'The plan _was_ to sneak it into Hermione. The portkey _was_ to send Hermione to the Shrieking Shack.' So what went wrong?"

At this Ginny just shrugged, Harry crumbled the letter in his hand. "Snape. That's what went wrong."

Ron said, "Figures."

Harry countered, "No, actually Snape has been sneaking food into Hermione for days... He caught Draco in the corridor. Malfoy was just feet from Hermione's room! Snape confiscated the apple core/portkey, calling Draco every kind of fool. Draco was able to see Hermione for a minute. She gave him this letter to me and he added his own post script at the bottom…." Harry silently re-read the crumpled letter until he found the part he wanted.

_Potter, Professor Snape took the core, so the plan is awash. I will think some more on the subject and if I come up with anything, you will be told. _

_DON'T WRITE BACK. –D._

Ron took the letter back from Harry, scowling as he realized he hadn't even noticed his friend had taken it out of his hands in the first place. He reread the whole thing and grimaced as he took in Malfoy's note. "Stupid ferret. You think that being a Slytherin would mean he'd know how to hide things better. I thought he and Snape were best friends. I mean look at the way he sucks up to him in Potions class and Snape never punishes him for anything. The Gryffindors get the blame for everything that stupid jerk does." He was so busy staring at the parchment that he did not notice as Harry shook his head warningly and Ginny slowly unclenched her hands and dropped them back to her sides. Right at that moment, Ron owed Harry a favor because Ginny had had every intention of shutting her brother up the old fashioned way, 'with her fists'. She did however fix both wizards with a very fierce glare and Harry found it hard to stand up to the intensity of her gaze.

Swearing under her breath, Ginny grabbed the parchment off Ron and began to read it properly. It was a lot easier now that she wasn't looking over her brother's shoulder to do so. 'Damn it, they had been so close to executing their plan. Why had Snape taken the apple core away? Did he know what it was or did he just tell Draco off for being there and took it away out of spite? What was going on? Was Snape helping them or not? Harry said that he was and so had Hermione but it didn't make any sense. Not unless Snape knew something that Draco and everyone else did not. Merlin, had he even told Dumbledore what was going on? Maybe he wasn't as loyal to the Order of the Phoenix as Dumbledore and her parents and other members thought'. She had to contact Draco again and find out exactly what happened between him and Snape when he was interrupted. Something just didn't add up and Ginny knew it. She looked up at Ron then and raised an eyebrow as she took in the expression on his face. 'Exactly what was her brother thinking about?'

Ron's mind was ticking over with all sorts of situations that seemed both incredulous and ridiculous at the same time. He knew that he was slow on the uptake at times and he knew that more was going on then what Harry and Ginny were making out. He couldn't work out what it had to do with Malfoy though and he was going crazy trying to figure it out. 'After all these years why would the ferret help Hermione and even more amazingly, what could have changed so that Harry would even think about trusting the slimy git?' They might have him stumped for now but he would figure it out eventually. He always did. 'Oh, okay, sometimes he had help figuring things out but the fact remained that he would know exactly what was going on sooner or later'. He stared out the window again and watched as the owl continued to stalk up and down the branch and stare back at him as if Ron were prey and the owl was getting very hungry. 'Didn't Ginny call it something when it first arrived? A regal sounding name before she changed it to be simply 'Malfoy's owl'? How would she even know what his damn bird was called and why had it seemed so friendly towards her when it first showed up?' Ron turned and narrowed his eyes at his sister who was now busy staring at the parchment and seemingly in a world of her own. He really didn't like where his thoughts were taking him at that moment. No, he did not like it at all.

OoOoOoOoOo

Draco Malfoy was pacing back and forth in his bedroom at Malfoy Manor. He was debating sending another note to Potter about what Professor Snape had told him on their walk down to Hogsmeade. He figured that if Potter and Weasel didn't know about it, they might do something stupid, like try and rescue Granger on their own, and that could put his Ginny in harms way. Well, there was nothing else for it, he was going to have to break down and take the chance of sending him another letter.

Potter

I had a nice long chat with your favorite Professor yesterday. He mentioned that the 'lair' has some pretty serious wards set up. He said that all of the entrances are warded with all of your pictures and that it's not to let you or any of your friends in. Only known Death Eaters (and some of their offspring) are allowed in. It also doesn't allow Portkeys to work. Or they work, but they never go to their intended target. Who knows where we could have ended up? So, I suppose he had good reasons to stop us. We'll find another way.

Draco

Draco folded up the parchment and made his way downstairs. Majestic wasn't back from delivering his first letter to Potter, and he couldn't dare use the family owl, so he'd have to go into a town to an owlery.

OoOoOoOoOo

Ginny drew in a deep breath as she made her way across the room at Zonko's and pretended to stare interestedly in a display of biting teacups and tried to act as if she'd been standing there for several minutes rather than the seconds it had taken her to apparate there. She didn't linger for long but made her way briskly out the door into the sunshine and headed for the post office in Hogsmead and hoped that no one would ask her too many questions when she got there. One reason she did not want to linger at Zonko's was because too many people would recognize her and ask her a thousand and one questions about the twins and what were they up to and had they invented anything new that they could sell in Zonko's as well as their own store. The other reason was that Ginny wasn't too sure whether the Ministry of Magic was really keeping tabs on her for performing underage magic or not. Perhaps they decided there was a mistake since Ron had so kindly pointed out that Ginny shouldn't even be at that level yet. And there was the unspoken amazement that Ginny had done something before Hermione herself had done.

As she stepped across the threshold of the post office and smiled briefly at the many owls fluttering overhead she wondered why Hermione hadn't taught herself to apparate. No doubt she would have read all the theory in preparation for future lessons. Perhaps, even with as many rules as she had broken over the years, especially where Harry and her brother were involved, Hermione drew the line at breaking the rules as far as underage magic was concerned. 'It was a pity', Ginny thought. 'It would certainly make things easier for them. If Hermione could just apparate then she'd easily escape. Her captors certainly wouldn't be expecting that'. As soon as the idea came into her mind she quickly dismissed it. 'Of course there would be enchantments in place so that no one else could apparate in there and steal Hermione away. That was why the port key was such a good idea in the first place. Voldemort shouldn't have expected that or so they thought. Why in Merlin's name had Snape taken the apple core off Draco? It made no sense at all. Harry and Ron seemed to think that maybe they shouldn't trust the Potions Master at all even if he was in Dumbledore's favour and had done what he could to protect Harry from any serious harm over the years. At least, he did when he wasn't trying to embarrass or humiliate the Gryffindor'. Ginny had no idea why the Head of Slytherin seemed to have such a hard time deciding whether he wanted to help Harry or not. Perhaps no one would ever know.

OoOoOoOoOo

Once Draco was outside of the wards on the Manor, he stuck out his wand arm and the Knight Bus appeared.

"Where to laddie?" asked Stan Shunpike.

"Hogsmeade." Said Draco.


End file.
